WORKING ON the momentum of their last two victories, the Blue Eagles grabbed the win against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers with another straight-set victory, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18, on Saturday, September 9, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Blue Eagles now boast a 3-0 win-loss record in the inaugural season of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Men’s Collegiate Conference.
Marck Espejo bombed 17 points including two from service aces to top the game’s statistics. After a quiet first two games, team captain Karl Baysa came out with 9 points and an impressive 15 of 21 excellent receives. John Rivera racked 10 points with a recorded efficient 9 out of 14 excellent digs.
Head coach Oliver Almadro deployed Espejo, Baysa, Rivera, Chu Njigha, Ish Polvorosa, Gian Glorioso, and Manuel Sumanguid at libero, fielding the same lineup as the last game.
Good offensive plays marked the start of the match for the Blue Eagles, while early errors plagued the Growling Tigers to widen the deficit. A service ace by Espejo followed by a quick hit from Baysa pushed the team to a great start (10-3).
UST’s defense eventually materialized to provide groundwork for more attacks, but Espejo went on a rampage to raise the score (21-14) at the first technical timeout. Following the cease in momentum, the Growling Tigers reorganized to rally and push the game closer off errors from the Blue Eagles (23-18), but ultimately dropped the first set (25-21) after a block by Rivera.
Espejo led the Blue and White in the second set with strong spikes and good placement, forcing an early advantage (9-5). UST retaliated with improved offense, but were continually rattled by Espejo’s bombardment (16-10). The Growling Tigers could not make up for their shortcomings on offense and dropped the second set (25-17) after an authoritative spike by captain Baysa.
Starting the third set, the Growling Tigers found their rhythm, blocking hits and receiving spikes much better than the last two sets to lock the third (7-7). Rivera and Espejo stepped up to break the stalemates of the first few rallies to help Ateneo regain a small lead (10-8).
However, the Growling Tigers responded to the Espejo-led offense with blocks and attacks of their own to bring the game to another deadlock (15-15). Despite their efforts, UST struggled to capitalize on the momentum after the small push and were pounded by a seven-point run, falling behind (22-15). The match was ultimately concluded by Glorioso, who launched another game-ending kill-block to give his team the third set (25-18).
“Well, the team played well and they studied the opponent. They are confident and they know what they are doing,” explained head coach Almadro after the match, who commended captain Baysa for his resilience in stepping up after being off-form in the past two games.
Now with a 3-0 record, he is happy with the progress of the team in the preseason. “What’s important for me is that they’re gaining confidence [and that] they’re maturing slowly,” shared Almadro.
The next game of the Blue Eagles will be on Wednesday, September 13, at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City against the College of Saint Benilde (CSB).
Box Scores
Ateneo
Espejo – 17, Rivera – 10, Baysa – 9, Glorioso – 8, Njigha – 4, Polvorosa – 4, Trinidad – 1
UST
Umandal – 13, Bautista – 7, Medina– 3, Buro – 3, Carodan – 3, Sumagaysay – 1, Tajanlangit – 1, Corda – 1, Icalina – 1
The Ateneo Blue Eagles won against UST in 3 sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-18).
