WITH HOPES of qualifying for the semifinals in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Beach Volleyball tournament after defeating the Lady Maroon team in the previous match, the lady beach spikers were determined to make the chance of heading into finals happen. However, the Lady Eagles’ last game of the elimination round against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers ended in a straight set loss, which forced a rematch later in the afternoon to decide who will take on the second seed Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws. Unfortunately, DLSU took the win again in straight sets.
The first set of the first game had one of the lowest score lines of the competition with Lady Eagles Michelle Morente and Kim Gequillana only scoring six points to DLSU’s 21. According to Coach Parley Tupaz there were errors everywhere especially with the receive. The second set saw improvement, as coach Tupaz credited the better performance to the team’s patience in the match. However, DLSU’s tandem of Emestine Tiamzon and Kim Fajardo kept finding holes in the defense of Ateneo, enabling the Lady Spikers to take the second set as well (21-16).
The Ateneo lady beach spikers would play against the DLSU pair once again in a deciding match to who will face FEU. Coach Tupaz wanted the team to focus on their defense and maintain strength in their offense in the next game.
The first set opened with a stronger Ateneo tandem with both teams entering into a seesaw battle. The Blue and White saw improvement in their own defense, but as the game came down to a score line of 19-19, Fajardo performed well in the clutch and took the set with a topspin that landed right on the end line (21-19).
The second set showcased some impressive defense by the Katipunan-based pair, but good defense was met with better offense and a monster performance by their DLSU counterpart, Tiamzon, who constantly scored from blocks and the service area. Her performance dominated the Lady Eagles and gave DLSU the final set which ended at 21-11. Handing straight sets to the Lady Spikers, the match marks the end of the season campaign for the Lady Eagles.
This loss ends the Ateneo lady beach spiker’s run in the UAAP Beach Volleyball tournament with a record of 4-3, puting them at fourth place below DLSU, FEU and the undefeated University of Santo Tomas (UST).
Ateneo lady beach spikers Captain Morente mentions that the biggest challenge was the lack of practice on the sand given the short time period. “We just trained for a week and a half before the season started so feeling ko big factor din yun na wala kaming masyadong training (We just trained for a week and half before the season started so I feel that it’s big factor that we didn’t have much training),” explains Morente
In addition, there was much miscommunication and the Ateneo pair’s receives were more akin to that indoor volleyball. Coach Tupaz reminded the Lady Eagles throughout the tournament to anticipate the play, to make sure serves go in, don’t get too close inside, and to anticipate attacks aimed outside.
Next season, for beach volleyball, Morente says, “sana magkaroon kami ng mahaba-habang training, para naman mas-ready kami for the incoming season. (I hope that we have a longer time to train, so that we’re more ready for the incoming season)” Even after all this, the team is satisfied with their top four finish considering all the challenges they faced.
