THE ATENEO Lady Spikers survived a five-set thriller against the Adamson (AdU) Lady Falcons, 25-22, 25-19, 16-25, 18-25 and 15-13 on Saturday, February 1, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The win boosted Ateneo’s win-loss record to 7-4 and created some separation between them and the trailing Adamson and Far Eastern University squads for the third seed.
The start of the match featured Adamson connecting on their open spikes as they made their way to the first technical time out on top, 8-6. Ateneo responded with a series of well-executed plays highlighted by Denden Lazaro’s hustle which opened up multiple spiking opportunities for Alyssa Valdez and Ella de Jesus.
The set emerged as a back and forth affair between Valdez and Adamson’s spikers. The Lady Falcons edged Ateneo by the second technical time out by a solitary point, 16-15, care of a cleanly-hit attack by Mylene Paat.
Despite the having momentum on their side, Adamson’s offensive scorer Shiela Pineda lined up a multitude of unforced errors that gave the Lady Spikers a fighting chance. With Valdez scoring two straight points care of a block and a service ace, Ateneo managed to tie the score at 21-all. Amanda Villanueva and Pineda continued to struggle as their well-intentioned yet poorly executed attacks gave away the opening set to Ateneo, 25-22.
The second set featured the high-flying de Jesus dazzling the crowd with her athleticism. De Jesus sparked the Lady Spikers to set up an 8-5 advantage by the first technical time.
Adamson’s attacks remained erratic as Ateneo’s lead ballooned to 16-9. However, the Lady Falcons found themselves in the game again care of a 5-0 scoring run due to unforced errors by Ateneo.
Adamson inched as close as 18-20 before Ateneo Head Coach Tai Bundit subbed in Bea Tan for defensive purposes. The Lady Spikers then dampened Adamson’s run, as they were able to pull away from the Lady Falcons. Julia Morado finished the set at 25-19 with back-to-back points care of her crafty maneuvering in the front row.
The third set was when offensive juggernaut, Pineda, regained her dominant form. De Jesus rose to the challenge as she responded to Pineda’s scoring with fearless attacks of her own. Pineda’s offense, however, proved too much for Ateneo to handle as Adamson flipped the script.
Mayette Zapanta and Faye Guevara provided additional support to Adamson’s scoring load as the Lady Falcons immediately garnered a 20-13 lead. Pineda maintained her offensive aggression despite Ateneo’s line of blockers and guided Adamson to a 25-16 triumph in the third set.
The fourth set saw Ateneo continue to struggle against the surging Pineda who was scoring from every direction. From well-placed tips and deceptively angled attacks, Adamson cruised to an immediate 18-12 advantage.
Ateneo displayed a mirror image of Adamson’s first two sets as they piled up multiple unforced errors. The Lady Spikers’ 10 errors proved costly as Adamson succeeded in forcing a fifth and deciding set by taking the fourth set, 25-18.
De Jesus started the final set with a service ace that generated enough energy from the fatigued Ateneo squad. The Lady Spikers’ got their points from Aerieal Patnongon and Adamson’s unforced errors, giving them an early three-point cushion at 5-2. Pineda, however, continued to produce for Adamson through a variation of attacks, recovering the lead for the Lady Falcons in an instant at 7-6.
The set ultimately boiled down to a battle of mental fortitude as the score was deadlocked at 10-all due to a Marge Tejada conversion. Adamson started off festivities with a 3-0 scoring run that almost took the life out of Ateneo. Down 10-13, the resilient Lady Spikers managed to pull off a 5-0 scoring run to seal not only the fifth set, but also the marathon-like match at 15-13.
Ateneo’s veterans delivered in this tightly contested match as Valdez led the game in scoring with 26 points. Amy Ahomiro, who came up huge down the stretch, tallied 11 markers overall. But it was the high-flying de Jesus who was honored as the player of the game after notching 13 crucial points.
Morado once again facilitated the offense well for Ateneo as she finished with a game-high 50 excellent sets. Her ball distribution led to the well-balanced scoring of the entire Ateneo squad as Tejada and Patnongon also contributed seven and five markers respectively.
The Lady Spikers will seek to make it back-to-back wins when they go up against the University of the East Lady Warriors on Saturday, February 8, 2PM at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
