THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated the Adamson Lady Falcons in five sets, 25-21, 17-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-10, on Wednesday, January 28, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Lady Eagles started slow with their attacks and committed several unforced errors early in the first set. Their lack of aggressiveness in the court allowed a two-point margin for Adamson, 5-7, but Amy Ahomiro and rookie Bea de Leon stirred things up with their quick attacks. Their efforts managed a 3-0 run, and by the end of the first technical timeout, the score was at 8-7.
Adamson adjusted, however, and utilized almost all available spikers, such as Faye Guevara, Mylene Paat and Amanda Villanueva, to confuse the Ateneo defenders. Adamson’s all-around team effort paved the way for their four-point advantage by the end of the second technical timeout, 12-16.
Ateneo recuperated through Valdez and rookie Jhoana Maraguinot, both of whom contributed to Ateneo’s 5-0 run, 17-16. Valdez took control from then on and ended the set at 25-21.
Despite the strong start, however, errors consumed the Lady Eagles in the second set. The Blue and White squad was called for interference, net violation and lifting errors that gave Adamson several easy points. This, coupled with a stellar performance by Adamson’s Jessica Galanza, allowed the Lady Falcons to take hold of the lead throughout the set. Galanza eventually closed the set at 17-25 through a crosscourt kill.
Ateneo then recuperated in the third set by rampaging with attacks early on. The Lady Eagles managed a strong 5-1 lead care of aggressiveness from Ella de Jesus and Maraguinot. Adamson then had a hard time keeping up with the consecutive attacks that resulted from Morado’s smart placement of the ball. The set eventually ended at 25-14 care of a Maraguinot down-the-line hit.
The fourth set featured a neck-and-neck exchange of points care of careful defenses from both teams. Neither of the teams allowed the other to gain a considerable lead that by the end of the second technical timeout, the score was at 14-16 in favor of Adamson.
The Lady Falcons then capitalized on the blocking department, as they denied attempt after attempt by the Ateneo attackers. They were able to pull through and sustained their efforts until the set ended at 22-25.
The fifth and final set then featured consecutive deadlocks, with both teams able to sustain their efforts in attacks and defenses. Erika Alkuino, together with Paat and Galanza, rallied to keep Adamson alive against Ateneo attackers Valdez, De Jesus and Ahomiro. While Adamson kept their blocking department in check, it was not enough to stop the powerful hits from the Ateneo spikers. The Lady Eagles were eventually able to close the set at 15-10, with Valdez scoring a season-high 30 points by the end of the match.
The Lady Eagles remain unbeaten in the season, with a record of 9-0 in the elimination round standings.
The Lady Eagles gained 62 points off attacks, a 15-point difference against Adamson’s 47. They also tallied eight each off blocks and service aces.
Valdez topped the team in scoring with 30 points followed up by De Jesus and Ahomiro with 12, De Leon and Maraguinot with nine and Jia Morado with five. Morado also distributed the ball with 33 excellent sets while Maraguinot and Valdez notched 14 excellent digs.
Their next game will be against University of the Philippines, 2 PM, Saturday, January 31, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Scores:
Ateneo: Valdez – 30, Ahomiro – 12, De Jesus – 12, De Leon – 9, Maraguinot – 9, Morado – 5, Gequillana – 1
AdU: Galanza – 17, Villanueva – 16, Paat – 15, Alkuino – 7, Guevara – 3, Dacoron – 2, Emnas – 2
Updated on Jan. 29, 2015 at 10:18PM
