THE ATENEO Blue Eagles redeemed themselves from their first-round loss against the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons by ending their match in straight sets, 25- 22, 25-17, and 25-22, on Sunday, April 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The loss incurred during the first round against their opponent proved to be the only loss keeping the Blue Eagles from a clean sweep this Season 78. The Blue Eagles now stand at a win-loss record of 13-1 and still remain at the top of the Final Four standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Volleyball tournament.

“We just wanted to prove na kaya naming manalo. Noong first round, nagulat lang kami at nabigla (We just wanted to prove that we have the capacity to win and we were only taken by surprise during the first round),” explained Head Coach Oliver Almadro. “We have unfinished business with Adamson and we finished it by beating [them].”

The first set of the game proved to be a seesaw battle between the two teams, as numerous errors occurred which prevented both teams from scoring. The tie was broken when the Blue Eagles finally focused on their attacks to claim the first set.

The Blue and White then opened the second set by featuring a full blow from attackers Marck Espejo, Ysay Marasigan and Karl Baysa. However, it was here where the Ateneo was issued a yellow card for a delayed warning.

After the referee whistled for a serve, the Eagles noticed that their rotation was wrong and immediately inquired their own staff for the correct positioning. Because the UAAP’s officials acknowledged the team, the game was halted to give way for their questions. However, the referee then called for an eight-second violation without signaling it with a whistle.

“It is all under technicalities. When they signaled us to serve, dapat hindi na nila in- acknowledge kami or dapat tinawagan nila kami for violations kaagad (When they signaled us to serve, they should have not acknowledged us or they should have called for a violation immediately),” Almadro pointed out.

The third set showed determination from both teams in trying to win the match. With the Falcons suddenly leading after numerous errors by the Katipunan-based squad, the Blue Eagles forced themselves back into the game, with Espejo ending it with a service ace.

Espejo led the Blue and White with a total of 17 points, five service aces and nine excellent sets. Marasigan, Josh Villanueva, and Ish Polvorosa followed their Most Valuable Player candidate’s output with 12, seven, and six points, respectively.

Ateneo – Espejo 17, Marasigan 12, Villanueva 7, Polvorosa 6, Baysa 5, Intal 5, Rivera 2.

AdU – Sudaria 14, Sarmiento 8, Pletado 7, Pablico 5, Saraza 2, Consunji 2.

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