THE ATENEO Lady Eagles dominated the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs in straight sets, 25-22, 25-16, 25-17, on Saturday, March 17 at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
With back-to-back straight set wins in the second round, the Lady Eagles now have a win-loss record of 6-3 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball tournament.
Captain Maddie Madayag was the team’s top scorer with 13 points off six service aces and six spikes off eight total attempts. Bea De Leon was key in Ateneo’s net defense, as she racked up five kill blocks, while Ponggay Gaston was an important factor on floor defense, recording six excellent receives and limiting NU to three service aces.
Ateneo Head Coach Anusorn “Tai” Bundit started Madayag, De Leon, Deanna Wong, Jules Samonte, Jho Maraguinot, and Kat Tolentino, while Gaston and Ria Lo shared the role of libero. Dani Ravena remains on the sidelines, having yet to fully recover from an appendicitis, while Bettina Abella was out due to a sprained ankle.
The first set began as a tug of war, as both teams fought hard to take the lead. Late into the set, the Blue and White went on a 4-0 scoring run to gain a 20-19 advantage, with half the points scored by Madayag from the service line. The Lady Bulldogs attempted to mount a comeback but key errors ultimately cost them the set, 25-22.
[1st Set] An NU error sees the Lady Eagles claim the first set!
Ateneo 25 NU 22#UAAPVolleyball pic.twitter.com/kw98KSAS9C
— Jason R. Santos (@Jason_TheGUIDON) March 17, 2018
Ateneo was the clear favorite in the second set, as a 9-3 scoring run allowed them to win an 18-10 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs later on went on a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to five, 21-16. The Blue and White answered back by scoring four consecutive points, with two coming from Tolentino’s service aces to close out the second set, 25-16.
[2nd Set] Tolentino’s ace claims the set for the Blue and White!
Ateneo 25 NU 16#UAAPVolleyball
— Jason R. Santos (@Jason_TheGUIDON) March 17, 2018
Hoping to avoid the straight-set sweep, NU went on a 5-0 run to take the early lead, 7-11. The Katipunan-based squad fought back and regained the lead, courtesy of a 3-0 scoring run capped off by an attack error from Roselyn Doria, 14-13. The Lady Eagles were able to maintain the advantage heading into the second technical timeout after an offensive exchange from both setters made it a 16-15.
[3rd Set] Wong and Nabor battle it out, but the Blue and White come out on top to enter the second TTO leading by one!
Ateneo 16 NU 15#UAAPVolleyball pic.twitter.com/kckeDzd7SP
— Jason R. Santos (@Jason_TheGUIDON) March 17, 2018
After the timeout, the Lady Eagles were unstoppable, allowing NU to score just two more points as they finished the set with a 7-0 barrage. With NU unable to make a response, veteran De Leon took match point with a block to take the game at 25-17.
[3rd Set] And that’s it! Bea de Leon’s block sees Ateneo take down NU in straight sets!
Ateneo 25 NU 17#UAAPVolleyball pic.twitter.com/eYaWh05EXQ
— Jason R. Santos (@Jason_TheGUIDON) March 17, 2018
With back-to-back straight set wins against the two teams that Ateneo lost to in five sets to back in the first round, skipper Maddie Madayag mentioned the importance of her team’s all-around performance and how much of an improvement they have made since the last round.
“I think we really learned from our mistakes from the first round,” said Kat Tolentino in the post-game press conference.
The next game for the Lady Eagles will be against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors on Wednesday, March 21 at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Set Scores
Ateneo-NU: 25-22, 25-16, 25-17
Box Scores
Ateneo: Madayag – 13, Samonte – 11, Maraguinot – 10, De Leon – 9, Tolentino – 8, Wong – 1
NU: Santiago – 16, Doria – 6, Paran – 4, Sato – 3, Singh – 3, Urdas – 1
