THE ATENEO Lady Eagles survived a five-set thriller against the University of the Philippines (UP), 25-18,22-25, 25-20,15-25 and 15-11, on Saturday, January 4, at the Fil Oil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The match opened with a strong run from the Blue and White side, as the Lady Eagles held a five-point advantage early in the set. Team Captain Alyssa Valdez rallied to keep the lead with her service aces and drop shots, keeping up the points until the score reached 13-8.

The momentum stopped, however, when Valdez committed consecutive errors that brought UP within one. Head Coach Anusorn “Tai” Bundit then called for time to adjust the game play, opening up the floor for offensive plays from rookie Bea De Leon and Ella de Jesus. The strategy proved effective, as the Lady Eagles cruised through the remainder of the set and finished it at 25-18.

It was a different story with the second set, however, as the Blue and White squad struggled to take control of their errors. UP’s Kathy Bersola took advantage of the disgruntled Ateneo side as she rampaged with down-the-line finishes and frontline attacks. This, coupled with excellent blocking by the UP frontline defenders, hindered the Ateneo from gaining crucial points. The Lady Maroons eventually positioned themselves at set point, 17-24.

The Lady Eagles then made a last ditch effort to save their clean record of straight set victories. Errors from the UP attackers and efforts from Valdez sparked a 5-0 run for the team that positioned Ateneo within two at 22-24. The set ended at 22-25, however, when de Jesus produced a powerful attack that went out of bounds.

Ateneo then regrouped with the goal of avoiding the careless errors they made in the last set. De Jesus hustled to produce points for the recuperating team and successfully registered point after point. Setter Jia Morado distributed the ball to different attackers, including de Leon and Valdez to confuse the UP blockers. Her strategy proved effective, as the team closed the third set at 25-20.

The Lady Eagles then went back to their errors and struggled to keep their defenses intact in the succeeding set. Attackers tried to penetrate the UP blockers but were continuously denied. UP dominated and held the lead throughout the fourth set, finishing at a tally of 15-25 and forcing a do-or-die fifth set.

The teams then battled it out in a back-to-back exchange of points, neither team allowing the other to gain significant advantage. Valdez and UP’s Nicole Tiamzon went head-to-head in the attack department early in the set, as Ateneo held a three-point cushion at 8-5. Errors from the Ateneo side then cut the lead to one. With this, the Lady Eagles were forced to find a strategy to escape the close exchange of points.

The team then turned to Amy Ahomiro to extend the lead with her quick attacks. Her hustle gave the Ateneo a two-point margin at 12-10 and a Morado service ace topped it off to position Ateneo within two points to victory. A Valdez kill eventually sealed the set and match at 15-11, giving the Blue and White its fifth straight victory in the season.

Valdez topped the team in scoring with 25 points, three from blocks and two from service aces. Rookie Bea de Leon then followed up with 12 markers of her own.

Their counterparts from UP also displayed excellent effort in the offensive department. Tiamzon led the Fighting Maroons in scoring with 22 points, followed up by Kathy Bersola with 12.

Setter and Player of the Game Jia Morado also became crucial to the Lady Eagles’ win as she distributed the ball with 42 excellent sets.

Their next game will be against the University of the East, 2 PM, Saturday, January 10, at the Fil Oil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Updated: Jan. 4, 2015, 10:18 PM