THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated the De La Salle Green Archers (DLSU) in three sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18 on Saturday, March 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue Eagles end the first round of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 Men’s Volleyball tournament with a perfect 7-0 record.
The first set started off close until Tony Koyfman made a strong serve to give his team the chance ball, which Marck Espejo finished with a cross-court spike, giving the Blue Eagles the three point lead (5-2). DLSU would make a comeback and Arjay Onia’s block on Koyfman got them back the lead (12-14). Further into the set, Josh Villanueva tipped the ball over the two-man block after Ish Polvorosa’s one handed set to tie the game (20-20). The Blue Eagles would then go on a 5-1 scoring run with Espejo scoring the last point of the set with a spike off Onia’s block (25-21).
The Blue Eagles started out strong in the second set. The DLSU blockers were caught chasing the Ateneo spikers which was made possible by some clever combination plays, allowing Espejo to score and give the Blue Eagles the four-point lead heading into the first technical time-out (8-4). An ace by Koyfman kept the lead at four points further into the set (17-13). The Green Archers bounced back, however, as Joshua Jose successfully blocked Josh Villanueva’s attack to cut the deficit to two (23-21). A successful cross-court attack by Espejo and a wide attack by Wayne Marco ended the set in favor of the Blue Eagles (25-21).
The defending champions opened the third set with another strong scoring run. Intal’s off-speed attack garnered his team the four-point lead heading into the first technical time-out (8-4). He would score again later on that allowed the ball to completely avoid the block and find the floor (12-7). Late into the set, Arjay Onia spiked the ball through an opening in Ateneo’s two-man block, but Espejo answered back with a block of his own (23-18). Espejo finished the match by scoring in an impossible situation, where three blockers and two receivers were in his path (25-18).
Espejo finished as the team’s top scorer with 15 points and eight excellent digs and 14 excellent receptions, his total points for the tournament is now at 107. Koyfman followed earning 13 points and lead the team in blocks with three.
“We have to be more aggressive but efficient,” said Head Coach Oliver Almadro when asked about rooms for improvement. He also wants his team to always be prepared well, “Every game we have to prepare, every set we have to prepare, every point we have to execute properly, that’s our mantra.”
Ateneo’s next opponent will be decided by a step-ladder format and the venue is yet to be announced.
Box Scores
Ateneo: Espejo-15, Koyfman-13, Intal-12, Villanueva-7, Baysa-4, Glorioso-1
DLSU: Onia-11, Dumago-6, Jose-4, Dimayuga-3, Marco-2, Delos Reyes-1, Maravilla-1, Asia-1
THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated the De La Salle Green Archers (DLSU) in three sets,25-21, 25-21, 25-18 on Saturday, March 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City
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