THE ATENEO beach volleyball teams had their hands full on Saturday, September 7, at the UE Caloocan sand courts with both squads playing in double-headers. The Lady Beach Spikers were victorious in one of their two games, while the men’s team lost both of their matches.

The Lady Beach Spikers lost their first match of the season against the Adamson Lady Falcons in three sets, 23-21, 11-21 and 5-15.

The first set featured an energetic back-and-forth affair with the score quickly reaching a 20-all deuce. With Bea Tan calmly providing well-placed shots, she and Alyssa Valdez managed to keep their composure. The Lady Beach Spikers also benefited from the carelessness of their opponents, as back-to-back unforced errors from the Adamson pair gave the Ateneo the first set win at 23-11.

However, it was an all-out Adamson attack from that point on, as the Lady Falcons delivered a 9-2 scoring run to open the second set. The Ateneo tried to respond with a couple of blocks from Valdez, but their efforts remained insufficient. The Lady Falcons finished the second set with a double digit advantage at 21-11.

The third set seemed like the perfect opportunity for the Lady Beach Spikers to deliver a turnaround. However, though they scored on the opening point, the Lady Falcons knew how to manage against a surging rival. Lady Falcons Amanda Villanueva and Shiela Pineda managed a 9-3 advantage in the third set, care of the unforced errors by the Ateneo. They capitalized on their momentum and finished the match at 15-5.

After the game, Valdez shared that the Ateneo team will use the loss as motivation to push themselves harder in succeeding matches.

“We’ll take it as a challenge kasi nakita namin na ngayon pa lang, sa third day pa lang, na lahat ng teams pwede manalo (We’ll take it as a challenge because we can see as early as now, only the third day, that all the teams have a chance to win),” Valdez shared. “Hindi natatapos sa first set ang isang game (A game doesn’t end in the first set),” she added.

The Valdez and Tan duo immediately put this mindset to work. They pulled off a two-set sweep against the defending champions, the Univesity of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigresses in their second match of the day with the score of 21-16 and 21-19.

With their chemistry, coupled with their regained momentum, Tan and Valdez found themselves with the 16-9 advantage in the first set. UST had a short burst of offense of their own, but they ultimately fell short against Ateneo’s defense. The Lady Beach Spikers prevailed, 21-16.

The second set featured a more even play, with the score reaching a deadlock at 18-all. However, the firepower from Valdez and Tan was too much for the Tigresses to handle, and the Ateneo eventually earned a 21-19 victory.

The Lady Beach Spikers now sport a 3-1 win-loss record in the team standings.

The men’s team, however, was unable to accomplish the same feat as the women’s team, suffering form two straight losses in Saturday’s matches.

Prior to the games, Blue Beach Spiker Karl Baysa shared their mindset for the day: “We just want to keep relaxed and focus and apply what we learned in training.” He also explained some points for improvement following their loss of the previous week, saying, “The loss was merely from our errors and miscommunication. Right now we plan to communicate well and lessen our errors.”

Unfortunately, the Blue Beach Spikers still fell short in their first match, experiencing a 16-21, 19-21 loss to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws. It started with Ateneo duo Baysa and Apelar struggling to maintain the offensive onslaught by their opponents as the set opened with a 3-8 score. Despite the hefty deficit, Baysa’s athleticism and Apelar’s smooth court-vision pulled them closer within two at 14-16. However, FEU refused to let go of the lead and stayed as forerunners of the game, ending the set with a sharp drop to the front zone, a move that the Blue and White duo did not foresee.

The second set was a much closer fight, the score reaching a tie on six different occasions upon entering the 6-all mark. Apelar’s consistency from the service zone and Baysa’s incredible reach for the ball pushed the Ateneo to a 12-10 lead, but FEU persisted, handing out block-piercing spikes. The Tamaraws eventually took over the lead and secured the match at 21-19.

The Blue Beach Spikers’ second match of the day proved to be yet another two-set sweep as they succumbed to the National University Bulldogs, 18-21 and 21-23.

The Ateneo men’s beach volleyball squad now holds a 1-3 win-loss record in the team standings.