THE ATENEO Blue Eagles swept the University of the East Red Warriors (UE) in straight sets, 25-17, 25-13, 25-22 on Wednesday, February 22 at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
The Blue Eagles are currently the only undefeated team in the league with a 5-0 record in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 Men’s Volleyball tournament.
The first set began with the teams going back-and-forth in the scoreboard. Ateneo made a late run after getting the lead back, which ended with a spike from Rex Intal giving the Blue Eagles a five point lead, 21-16. The team continued to dominate near the end, only conceding one point to take the set by 8, 25-17.
In the second set, the Katipunan-based squad showed their dominion over the Red Warriors. Midway through the set, reigning MVP Marck Espejo scored an ace to stretch the lead to thirteen (18-5). Ateneo Head Coach Oliver Almadro took this opportunity to give his bench some playing time. Rookie Chumason Njigha scored the first point of his UAAP career off a quick attack, while Gian Glorioso went on to score with a running spike to finish the set, 25-13.
The third set saw a reversal of roles for most of its duration. The Blue Eagles never got the lead until late in the set when Tony Koyfman spiked the ball through a one-man block to tie the game at 20-all. This was the beginning of a 6-2 scoring run, highlighted, an Espejo crosscourt spike that was unmarked via an Ish Polvorosa’s excellent set. Polvorosa would then make another set to Espejo, allowing the reigning MVP to score again. Rex Intal enforced a successful blocked that finished the third set and the game at 25-22.
Espejo led the Blue and White with 15 points and three blocks, followed by Rex Intal with 10 points and three blocks, as well. Starting libero Manuel Sumanguid had an excellent digging game, getting 9 out of 14 attempts.
“Every game should be a learning process,” says Coach Almadro, who wants his team to have the mentality that they learn something from every game. He also experimented with Koyfman during the game, but it resulted to an adjustment difficulty, explaining his low scoring output. Coach Almadro also mentioned that Koyfman will surely bounce back next game. “Last year UP [was in the] final four, they are not a pushover team,” says Coach Almadro who will be preparing well for their match up on Sunday.
The Blue Eagles will be facing the University of the Philippines in their next game on Sunday, February 26, 10AM at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
Box Scores
Ateneo: Espejo-15, Intal-10, Villanueva-8, Baysa-6, Medalla-4, Polvorosa-3, Koyfman-3, Glorioso-2, Rivera-2, Njigha-1
UE: Camposano-6, Lelic-6, Aljas-5, Alba-5, Inoferio-4, Ortega-2
The Ateneo Blue Eagles manage to maintain a perfect record at 5-0, defeating the Red Warriors in straight sets, 25-17, 25-13 and 25-22.
https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/uaap-season-79-men-s-volleyball-ateneo-vs-ue
