THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in straight sets, 27-25, 25-19, 25-14, on Sunday, March 26 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The Blue Eagles remain undefeated and stand at 12-0 in the eliminations round of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 Men’s Volleyball tournament.

Although UE is without Team Captain Edward Camposano, the Red Warriors proved to be a challenge for the Blue Eagles especially in the first set. The Red Warriors opened the first set, immediately leading the Blue Eagles through the heroics of UE top scorer Clifford Inoferio. However, the Blue Eagles would rally back and tie the score for the first time (8-all) through an ace by first-time starter Chumason Njigha. The Red Warriors would then go on a 5-0 run that was halted by an attack by Ron Medalla. The set was brought to its second stalemate, where both teams traded lead changes, until Ateneo broke free and extended the lead to four (19-15). However, slow reactions in defense from the Blue Eagles’ side allowed the Red Warriors to make a 4-0 run that tied the set once again (19-all). Marck Espejo’s crosscourt spike stopped the bleeding for the Blue Eagles, and his contributions in offense and defense finally brought the Blue and White to set point (24-22). Unfortunately, a misreceive from Medalla’s substitute, John Rivera, allowed UE to extend the set (24-all). This pushed the Blue Eagles to end the opening battle by capitalizing on UE’s errors and finishing the set with a solid team block (27-25).

Despite losing to the Blue Eagles by a small margin, the Red Warriors continued to show signs of life, as they garnered the lead early in the set, 4-2. However, errors stemming from the Red Warriors’ side allowed the Blue Eagles to tie the score (5-all), and enforce a combination play through libero Manuel Sumanguid, setter Ish Polvorosa and middle blocker Rex Intal to take the lead (6-5). With neither team giving up the advantage, Ateneo emerged once again from the seesaw battle and took the momentum to bring the score up by five (20-15). Although the Red Warriors capitalized on the Blue Eagles’ errors, and offensive contributions by Inoferio allowed them to inch towards the score (22-18), Tony Koyfman’s entry into the game denied them of all attempts to take the set from the Blue and White (25-19).

In the third set, the Blue Eagles took the possession early in the set, immediately garnering a 4-point lead. Ateneo’s lead continued to grow via the errors incurred by the Red Warriors, but UE was able to end their scoring drought due to attack errors from the Blue and White as well. However, Koyfman’s contributions bolstered the Blue Eagles’ morale, as the Ateneo score continued to double (16-9). As the Blue Eagles have garnered the comfortable lead, middle blocker Jasper Tan made his first appearance in the Season after recovering from a heart condition last year. The dying moments of the match saw the Blue Eagle bench deliver, and Medalla ended the game in favor of the Blue Eagles (25-17).

Marck Espejo topped the game with 19 points, where 13 markers are from spikes, and he also made 5 blocks. Rex Intal and Tony Koyfman followed with 7 points apiece. Manuel Sumanguid continues to top the team in defensive contributions by scoring 13 out of 18 attempts in digs.

Despite his team’s lackluster performance in the first set, Blue Eagles Head Coach Oliver Almadro praises University of the East (UE) for their stellar play. “Kahit wala si Edward Camposano, naglaro nang maayos yung UE (Even though Edward Camposano was not there, UE played well.),” says Coach Almadro.

He also sees this as an opportunity for his players to do better, as they are able to find points of improvement after this match. “I know they are really playing well, but in the first set, UE played well also and maganda naman iyan kasi in that sense, nag-iimprove din kami, nakikita namin saan kami pwede mag-adjust and nakikita namin na may kailagan pa kami i-push ang sarili namin (I know they are really playing well, but in the first set, UE played well also and that is all good because in that sense, we are improving also, we see where we can adjust and we see that that we still have to push ourselves.),” adds Almadro.

The Blue Eagles will face the De La Salle Green Archers on Saturday, April 1, 10AM at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Box Scores

Ateneo: Espejo- 19, Intal- 7, Koyfman- 7, Njigha- 6, Medalla- 6, Baysa- 4, Polvorosa- 4, Villanueva- 3, Glorioso- 1

UE: Inoferio- 15, Alba- 8, Ortega- 4, Aljas- 3, Lelic- 2, Adriano- 2, Imperial- 1, Magdaong- 1

The Ateneo Blue Eagles defeat the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in straight sets, 27-25, 25-19, 25-14

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