The Ateneo Blue Eagles trumped the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons in four gruelling sets (25-14, 25-27, 25-23, 28-26) in Season 80 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Volleyball tournament on Wednesday, February 21, at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City. Ateneo now holds a 4-1 record in the standings.
With an outstanding 26 spikes, two aces, and three kill blocks in a monstrous 31-point game, four-time UAAP Most Valuable Player (MVP) Marck Espejo was the crux of the Blue and White victory. Also giving Ateneo a much needed boost was middle blocker Gian Glorioso, who put up five kill blocks, eight spikes, and an ace for a 14-point output.
Ateneo Head Coach Oliver Almadro deployed the usual squad of Karl Baysa, Espejo, Ish Polvorosa, Ron Medalla, Glorioso, Chu Njigha, and Manuel Sumanguid as libero. Service specialists Pau Trinidad and rookie Jobok Morado were utilized as well as John Rivera as substitute wing spiker.
Early in the first set, Morado played a few rotations as libero for Sumanguid as the latter suffered a minor sprain but was able to continue after a short rest. The Blue Eagles were off to a strong start with Espejo and middle blockers Glorioso and Njigha pulling out all the stops to give Ateneo an early lead (8-4). Adamson continued to be bombarded with Blue and White quick kills and wing spikes. Ateneo never looked back after as a Falcon attacking error gave away the set (25-14).
Unlike the first set, the second set saw an entirely revitalized Adamson crew. The Falcons nailed three spikes and also landed an ace to garner a significant lead coming into the first technical timeout (TTO) (4-8). However, the Blue Eagles retaliated with attacks of their own and pulled out a small lead in the tight set (23-21). The set became a deuce following a Falcon spike. But, after both teams were tied (25-25), AdU pulled ahead with a quick attack and kill block to snag the extended set from Ateneo (25-27).
Both teams played on with high intensity in the third set with Adamson gaining a small lead in the first TTO after making a kill (6-8). Ateneo started to give away several points through errors, but offensive returns led by Epsejo and Njigha brought the team out of the rot and tied the set (22-22). After a back row bomb from Espejo and a quick from Njigha, team captain Baysa gave the set to the Eagles with a clean service ace (25-23).
After 75 minutes of game time, the match came into an extended fourth set that decided the victor. Ateneo was put off by early errors, and after a 5-0 run by Adamson, the Eagles were forced to call timeout (8-14). Soon after, Ateneo made a 4-0 run of their own after kills from Medalla and Espejo (15-18). A crucial spike from Baysa brought the game close (21-22) and soon after, another Espejo and Medalla bombardment gave the Eagles the lead (24-23). However, the Falcons did not give up after bringing the set into a deuce with a cross-court kill. Espejo and Glorioso would slam attacks in, but Adamson held the tie with Ateneo service errors. Ultimately, an attack error by the Falcons would give the long set to the Blue and White (28-26).
The Blue Eagles made a painful 32 total errors, but survived through their 61 attacks and seven service aces. Adamson limited themselves to 22 total errors and put up 10 blocks against the Blue and White.
According to Coach Almadro, key players Polvorosa and Rivera had fevers prior to the game and had missed the last few practices. “We’re happy for the win, but we’re sad because we weren’t at our 100%,” he said. “We [the team] must know how to sustain the energy from start to finish.”
The next game for the Blue Eagles will be against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, on Sunday, February 25, 8:00 AM, at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
Set Scores
Ateneo-AdU: 25-14, 25-27, 25-23, 28-26
Box Score
Ateneo: Espejo – 31, Glorioso – 14, Njigha- 13, Baysa- 8, Medalla – 8, Polvorosa – 4 Rivera – 2, Trinidad – 1
AdU: Yude – 13, Pablico – 12, Bello- 10, Miranda – 9, Alvarez – 6, Jimenez – 4, Millares – 2, Arbasto – 1
Storify Link
