IN THEIR only game on the second day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Beach Volleyball tournament, the Ateneo starting Bea De Leon and Jules Samonte, with Ana Gopico as their reserve player.
The Blue and White pair clashed against UST’s powerhouse duo of Cherry Rondina and Caitlin Viray. Straight from the get-go, the Lady Eagles were neck and neck with UST as a Samonte service ace boosted Ateneo’s spirits in the early stages.
The hardened Lady Tigresses, however, did not let the Lady Eagles control the pace and scored off a block, 3-5. After a few rallies, Samonte pushed the game to a deadlock with the help of the net, 8-8. The potent Rondina and Viray twosome continued to push the bar up, but soon, the Lady Eagles took the lead after De Leon scored four straight points off two kills and two aces, 16-14, forcing UST to call a timeout.
The battle remained close with both teams going back and forth until they reached a deuce, 20-20. UST then gained the advantage after a strong kill, and after an intense rally with the set on the line, Viray’s cross-court kill ultimately ended the set, 20-22.
The second set saw the Lady Eagles holding their ground against last year’s beach volleyball queens early on, 4-5. Be that as it may, the experienced Rondina was able to catch the Ateneo tandem off-guard several times to increase the UST lead to four, 7-11. Samonte and De Leon pulled of several kills bringing the game within reach, 14-16. But, even after the retaliations from Ateneo, the UST duo seemed to get even better as the match progressed, and ended up shaking the Blue and White defense, 15-19. A drop ball from Viray claimed the set for UST, 15-21, and the match at the expense of the Lady Eagles.
Despite the result, Lady Eagle Bea De Leon took the defeat with a positive perspective. “I mean, with the experience they had and [the fact that] we’re only rookies, we just didn’t put any pressure on ourselves and tried to enjoy the game and used it as something more,” said De Leon. “Like [seeing it] as a tune up for our next games would be a lot better.”
The next game for the Lady Eagles will be against the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, October 7, at SM Sands by the Bay in Pasay.
Set Scores
Ateneo vs UST: 20-22, 15-21
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