THE ATENEO Blue Eagles sweep the season series against the National University Bulldogs (NU) in straight sets, 25-17, 25-21, 25-16 on Saturday, April 8 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Blue Eagles officially complete their sweep of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 Men’s Volleyball tournament elimination round with a perfect 14-0 record.

The Men’s Volleyball team had a week to prepare for the game and they were able to convert this. Head Coach Oliver Almadro rolled out his usual starting seven of Karl Baysa, Josh Villanueva, Tony Koyfman, Rex Intal, Ish Polvorosa, Marck Espejo, and libero Manuel Sumanguid. Ateneo had the head start through Intal’s quick which gave his team the small lead (3-1). Baysa’s block on Natividad and lob over Saura further widened the lead (9-5). NU tried to rally back but a powerful spike by Espejo through the double block and a running spike by Intal maintained the lead (12-9). Reigning MVP Marck Espejo recorded a kill block to bring his team to within three points of taking the first set (22-14). The Bulldogs attempted a run but it was cut short by a double-contact violation (23-16). The Blue and White ultimately took the first set, thanks to a quick attack by Intal and an off-the-block kill by Koyfman (25-17).

The second set was better for NU, however, as the score was neck-and-neck until Dayandante scored an ace to push NU’s lead to four (6-10). The Bulldogs continued their scoring run and Bagunas notched a service ace to further stretch the lead (7-12). The Blue and White then went on to score four straight points, highlighted by a block by Intal, to bring the deficit to within just one point (11-12). Errors on both sides ensured a close score and both teams went back and forth with their attacks. The Blue Eagles were looking impressive on defense all throughout the second set and a huge three-man block on Ismail’s back-row attack tied the game (19-19). Errors by NU and blocks by Koyfman and Espejo allowed the defending champions to go on a 6-2 scoring run to take the second set (25-21). The last rally saw the blocking trio of Koyfman, Intal, and Espejo record two rebounds and a kill block to end the set.

The third set was a complete domination by Ateneo and Baysa’s attack off Dayandante’s block allowed the team to lead by two points early in the set (5-3). Further into the set, the Bulldogs were forced to call a timeout after Espejo scored with a powerful cross-court attack that seemed impossible to stop (10-5). Captain Karl Baysa then scored a lucky service ace with a net-in (11-5). NU was constantly plagued with errors and they were forced to call a time-out after Ismail spiked the ball onto the antenna and another one of their attacks go wide (17-8). Ateneo called a time-out after NU went on a short scoring run (18-12). The Blue Eagles then went on a run of their own and Intal scored an ace to bring the elimination round sweep to within four points (21-13). With the score at (24-16) Rivera blocked Gampong’s attempt to get the rebound and the chance-ball which allowed him to go up for the spike but it was blocked. The referee’s whistle stopped everyone in their tracks and the net-touch violation gave Ateneo the set, the match, and the sweep. The third set ended with a score line of (25-16).

Marck Espejo finished with 16 points, 4 blocks, and he leads the tournament with 235 points in contributions. Polvorosa recorded 31 of 59 excellent sets as compared to NU setter Dayandante who was only able to garner 15 of 66 excellent sets. This low setting number for Dayandante can be attributed to Ateneo’s excellent defense which averaged 3.33 kill blocks per set. NU’s attacking success rate was kept at a very low 27.91% with Ismail having a team-low 20.69% success at 29 total attempts.

“We are now in the finals but the job is not yet done,” said Coach Almadro after the game. He praised NU’s play but attributed the straight set victory to the preparation of his players. Marck Espejo had apparently been playing with a fever and was not meant to be in the game initially, but he had told Coach Almadro that he was ready to play. “Tony delivered, Karl delivered, and my middle blockers did their job,” said Almadro. He also mentioned that the overall goal of the team is still the three-peat championship. The head coach also admired the leadership of his setter Ish Polvorosa.

Head Coach Oliver Almadro and his team have not lost a game since Season 78’s first round defeat against Adamson. The Ateneo Men’s Volleyball team swept all their games after the loss, all their games in the Thailand training camp, and all their games in the pre-season tournament Spiker’s Turf.

Ateneo’s next opponent will either be the National University Bulldogs, The Far Eastern University Tamaraws, or the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers in the finals depending on the results of the step-ladder playoffs.

Box Scores

Ateneo: Espejo-16, Koyfman-11, Intal-10, Baysa-9, Villanueva-5, Polvorosa-1,

NU: Bagunas-9, Ismail-7, Natividad-6, Saura-3, Dayandante-2, Malabunga-2, Gampong-2