POWERED BY Espejo’s extremely efficient attacking, the Ateneo Blue Eagles defeated rivals National University (NU) Bulldogs in straight sets, 25-19, 25-19, 25-15, on Saturday, September 30, at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
The Blue Eagles end the elimination round with a perfect win-loss record of 7-0 in the inaugural season of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Men’s Collegiate Conference.
Assistant coach Timothy Sto. Tomas took over for head coach Oliver Almadro who is currently in Japan on duty for the Cignal HD Spikers. Coach Sto. Tomas started Karl Baysa, Chu Njigha, Ish Polvorosa, Marck Espejo, Gian Glorioso, and John Rivera, with Manuel Sumanguid at libero.
Espejo was the day’s top scorer with 23 points and a season-high 76.92% attack efficiency. Rivera followed on the statistics sheet with eight points off eight successful spikes, while Sumanguid racked up 13 of 16 excellent digs. As of today’s game, both Espejo and Polvorosa recorded two service aces and are currently the league’s top servers.
Looking to continue their unbeaten campaign, the Ateneo Blue Eagles began the first set with a quick 6-3 run. NU was able to mount a comeback, however, as a block on Rivera tied the score at 6-6. The gap remained narrow and the Blue Eagles only led by two at the second technical timeout, 16-14.
A strong, quick attack by Glorioso sparked a run that widened the deficit, 17-15, while another offensive error by NU’s Gampong forced the Bulldogs to call a timeout with the score at 22-16. Following the huddle, Saura served back-to-back aces to cut the lead, 22-18. Only three points away from taking the set, the Blue Eagles made short work of the Bulldogs, as cross court kill by Rivera ended the first set at 25-19.
The Blue and White began the second set with an early run capped off by back-to-back service aces from Espejo heading into the first technical timeout, 8-3. The Bulldogs were able to mount a comeback, however, and a denial by Bagunas on Espejo made it a one-point game, 14-13. Errors by NU prevented them from gaining the upper hand, and the Blue Eagles were able to stretch the deficit even further after a block by Polvorosa. Rivera ended the set with a spike off the block, following a feint from Njigha, concluding the second set at 25-19.
Further errors from NU pushed the momentum in Ateneo’s favor, making it an 8-4 game. The Blue and White earned a nine-point lead heading into the second technical timeout thanks to efficient attacking from Espejo and good defense from Polvorosa. The Bulldogs seemed completely outmatched and were unable to create a significant attempt to close the gap in the third set. Just five points from taking the match, the Katipunan-based squad went on a 5-2 run to remain undefeated in the league, 25-15.
“We did not expect it,” says setter Ish Polvorosa on NU’s performance. “They had their own share of lapses.” Polvorosa also commended Espejo’s consistency on offense in his last playing year. The veteran setter hopes for his team’s performance to continue on to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), as the team’s primary goal is to take the crown for a fourth straight year.
The next game for the Blue Eagles will be in the semi-finals, with match-ups and schedules to be determined.
Box Scores
Ateneo: Espejo – 23, Rivera – 8, Njigha – 6, Glorioso – 6, Polvorosa – 5, Baysa – 3, Labao – 2
NU: Gampong – 9, Saura – 8, Bagunas – 5, Ismail – 4, Ogoc – 3, Natividad – 2, Daymil – 2, Malabunga – 1
