IT WAS a five-set thriller that kicked off the UAAP volleyball tournament finals between the Ateneo Lady Spikers and the De La Salle University Lady Spikers. Unfortunately for Ateneo, their explosive start in game one of the best-of-three series ended in a painful 2-3 defeat last Saturday, March 2, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
This was the second time this season that Team Ateneo held a 2-0 lead, but fell to La Salle in three straight sets.
As expected from the top two seeds in the league, both teams traded points early in the first set. Alyssa Valdez’s variations of powerful tips caught the La Salle defense off guard, but Ara Galang and her athleticism challenged the Atenean blockers and kept La Salle in the game.
Ateneo deviated from the usual strategy of letting Valdez carry the offensive load as Fille Cainglet, Ella De Jesus and Angeline Gervacio ran the show. Altering their attacks in mid-air decisions, the trio gave the Lady Eagles a 20-13 advantage. Ateneo’s momentum was too much for La Salle, as the Lady Archers began piling up unforced errors to give the ladies in blue the first set, 25-20.
With the Ateneo crowd egging on their volleyball team, Gervacio easily took care of the second set by putting on a service exhibition. La Salle had no answer to the speed and spin of Gervacio’s serve as it set the tone for the 6-0 run it produced—three of which were aces from the veteran. Eventually, the Ateneo Lady Spikers seized the second set, 25-17, and surged to a 2-0 advantage.
Carrying the energy from the intensity of the previous sets, Ateneo propelled themselves ahead in the third set, 9-3. However, championship experience pulled through for La Salle as Michele Gumabao, Mika Reyes and Abigail Maraño pulled out every offensive attack they had to survive the third set. With the score tied at 21-all, the red hot Gervacio committed a costly service error that swung the momentum to the Lady Archers. The Lasallians grabbed the set, 25-22.
In the fourth set, Ateneo saw their quick 4-0 come undone as Galang and Cydthealee Demecillo heated up for the defending champs. The two were key contributors to the whopping 21 attacks the Lady Archers let loose. Their aggressive offense canceled out La Salle’s 11 unforced errors.
Adding insult to injury, the Lady Eagles were called for a violation that they would regret this entire finals series. The score was tied at 22-all, but there were seven Atenean players on the court when play began. This miscommunication paved the way for the 25-22 fourth set loss that drained all the momentum and crowd energy Ateneo had.
Making a bold statement as the defending champs, the Lady Archers preyed on the Lady Eagles in the fifth set, culminating in a Lasallian victory, 15-6.
Ateneo is forced to a must-win situation on game two of the finals on Wednesday, March 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
