THE ATENEO Lady Eagles were finally dominant once again after their two previous games ending up as 5-setters. The Blue and White edged out the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons in straight sets, 25-13, 25-13, and 25-11 on Sunday, March 26 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

This win over the Lady Falcons sees the Blue and White improve to a 10-2 win-loss record in Season 79 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball tournament.

The first set saw a slow start from both teams as the Lady Eagles and Lady Falcons relied on unforced errors and violations for points. However, a block from Bea de Leon would then see the Lady Eagles break their slump, as the team entered the first technical timeout leading by three (8-5). Exiting the technical timeout, Jhoana Maraguinot and Michelle Morente would come up huge for the Lady Eagles, as they sent spike after spike to see the Blue and White enter the second technical timeout leading by nine (16-7). Libero Deanna Wong and Ria Lo would soon step onto the court for the Lady Eagles. Eventually, a poorly-hit spike from Adamson would see the Lady Eagles take the first set at 25-13.

Jules Samonte, Kim Gequillana and Maddie Madayag started the second set for the Lady Eagles. The Lady Falcons, who fell victim to unforced errors and miscommunication errors in the first set, displayed continued sloppy play as the Lady Eagles capitalized on their poorly hit spikes and miscommunication errors (16-9). Ponggay Gaston and Jamie Lavitoria would soon join Samonte, Gequillana, Wong, and Madayag on the floor for the Lady Eagles. Carelessness would then once again prove to be costly for the Lady Falcons, as a service error would then find them conceding the second set, 25-13.

The third set would then see pure domination from the Lady Eagles as they entered the second technical timeout holding the Lady Falcons scoreless (16-0). Eventually, a service error from the seemingly-fatigued Kim Gequillana, who had been serving since the start of the set, would gift the Lady Falcons their first point of the set. (16-1). Eventually, another error from Ateneo gave the Lady Falcons their second point of the set at 18-2. Late in the set, a drop from Adamson’s Joy Dacoron would then ignite a mini scoring run for Lady Falcons, as they attempted to lessen the Blue and White’s lead. However, a crosscourt from Gequillana would then prove to be the nail in the Lady Falcons’ coffin as the Lady Eagles took the third set at 25-11. Out of the 11 points earned by Lady Falcons, only 3 markers were scored by Dacoron while the rest were marked due to the Lady Eagles’ unforced errors.

This match against Adamson saw the whole Ateneo roster being brought into the rotation. Kim Gequillana emerged as today’s player of the game nabbing 11 points with 7 markers coming from spikes and 4 service aces. Deanna Wong was able to defend the backrow with 6 excellent digs, while Gizelle Tan was able to make 7 out of the 14 successful receives of the team.

After the match, Assistant Coach Sherwin Meneses, who filled in as head coach today following Tai Bundit’s absence due to other commitments back home in Thailand. “Sa third set, napagod talaga si Kim kasi siya yung nag-seserve hanggang sa second technical, pero pagkatapos niyan, nag- sscore pa siya (In the third set, Kim got really tired because she was the one serving until the second technical timeout, but after that, she was still scoring.),” commented Meneses regarding Gequillana’s impact in today’s game.

The Lady Eagles will square off against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors at 2PM on Sunday, April 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Box Scores:

Ateneo: Gequillana- 11, Morente- 7, Samonte- 6, Maraguinot- 5, Madayag- 5, Morado- 4, Tolentino- 4, de Leon- 3, Gaston- 3, Gopico- 2

AdU: Dacoron- 8, Dahab- 3, Joaquin- 3, Flora- 2, Mohammad- 1

Blue Eagles dominate Falcons in straight sets (25-13, 25-13, 25-11).

https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/uaap-season-79-women-s-volleyball-ateneo-vs