THE ATENEO Lady Spikers displayed their resilience as a rebuilding squad when they extended their season with a victory over the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Spikers defeated second seed NU in four sets, 25-17, 12-25, 31-29 and 28-26, on Wednesday, February 26, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Spikers opened the match with an offensive burst that featured a well-distributed scoring load. The Ateneo managed an early 8-4 lead by the first technical timeout due to a Valdez ace and an attack error by the Lady Bulldogs. The Ateneo increased the lead to 12-6 with key contributions from rookie Michelle Morente and a crafty down-the-line conversion by veteran Amy Ahomiro.
The Ateneo maintained its early rhythm throughout the entire set, extending its lead to seven, 22-15, at the latter stages of the set. Aerial Patnongon’s accuracy from the service zone and Morente’s no-fear mentality when it comes to attacking the rival blockers eventually sealed the first set, 25-17, in favour of the Blue and White. The Lady Spikers’ strong start was reflected in the offensive department where they held a 12-6 advantage in attacks.
The second set, however, was a completely different story. NU blew out the Lady Spikers, steamrolling through the opening of the second set with a 7-2 scoring run. The Ateneo inched closer at 8-5, but it proved futile against NU’s Santiago sisters, Din din and Jaja. NU’s setter Ivy Perez was also crucial in the second set as she rotated the ball to several of her spikers excellently. This allowed the Lady Bulldogs to tie the match at 1-all by securing the second set with a 13 point lead at 25-12.
With the match tied at 1-set a piece, both squads refused to let the opposing team get a comfortable lead in the third set, which boiled down to a deadlock as the score reached a 20-all tie. The Lady Bulldogs managed to capture a luxurious 22-20 cushion and eventually the 24-21 set-point, but the league’s leading scorer Alyssa Valdez tied the set at 24-all by pulling off a 3-0 scoring run of her own: A block-piercing spike, a well-read block and an attack to the open defensive zone.
The constant back-and-forth affair between the two squads continued until the 29-all mark. It was then that a crucial misreception from Dindin Santiago gave a free ball opportunity to Amy Ahomiro, which she easily dispatched for the 30-29 set-point. The Ateneo completed the comeback effort as Santiago’s spike bounced off the antenna, rewarding the Ateneo the point and putting the set at 31-29.
Despite the demoralizing outcome of the third set, the Lady Bulldogs still managed to establish a 16-14 advantage by the second technical timeout of the fourth set. When the set proceeded to its latter stages, NU was hanging on to a slim 21-19 margin. De Jesus then tied the set at 21-all via a service ace and a down-the-line conversion. The Ateneo would then pull through and gain the 26-25 match point courtesy of a Valdez service ace. NU replied to tie the set at 26-all, but they were unable to dampen the athletic de Jesus on the succeeding play. She scored two consecutive points off well-hit spikes that ricocheted off the towering NU blockers to help the Ateneo clinch the fourth set at 28-26 and notch the victory.
The match, which included two extended sets, rendered both teams fatigued. Asked how the team managed to come out on top in an exhausting game, Lady Spikers Head Coach Tai Bundit answered, “I keep telling them, ‘Happy, happy!’”
Co-team captain Ella de Jesus shared on the team’s response to their coach’s orders, “Sobrang disiplinado lahat ng players namin (All our players are very disciplined).” She further elaborated, “Sobrang gusto namin manalo so hindi namin binitiwan lalo na kapag hawak naming ‘yung chance (We really wanted to win so we didn’t let go, especially when the opportunity was already in our hands).”
De Jesus finished the match with 16 points, 13 due to attack-points. Valdez led all scorers with a game-high 29 points and rookie Michelle Morente scored in double figures with 12 crucial markers.
The cohesive offense that helped the Lady Spikers win the match can be attributed to the hustle of libero Denden Lazaro, who had 13 excellent digs and 7 receptions. Rookie Julia Morado also facilitated the ball distribution well, recording 29 excellent sets.
With the victory, the Lady Spikers erased the twice-to-beat advantage held by NU and set up a do-or-die match between the two squads on Saturday, March 1, 4PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for the right to face defending champions De La Salle University in the Finals.
