THE ATENEO Lady Eagles dropped to third place after their defeat at the hands of the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers in straight sets, 24-26, 17-25, 19-25, on Sunday, April 15, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. With this defeat, the Lady Eagles enter the Final Four stage of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball tournament without a decisive twice-to-beat advantage.

On offense, Kat Tolentino led scoring for the Blue and White with a tally of 15 points, while Ponggay Gaston did her part on the defensive end with a contribution of five of the team’s 13 excellent receptions. From the service line, the Lady Eagles bested the Lady Archers’ five aces with seven of their own.

The first set saw the Lady Spikers enter the first technical timeout (TTO) with a 6-8 lead. A crosscourt from Kianna Dy granted DLSU a three-point advantage at 13-15 by the second TTO, and a late 4-0 run from Ateneo could do little to stop Joy Baron from landing a quick attack to end the set at 24-26.

Tin Tiamzon came to life for the Lady Spikers in the second set and sent DLSU up 2-8 into the first TTO through a crosscourt attack. The spiking trio of Kianna Dy, Desiree Cheng, and Tiamzon then caused problems for the Lady Eagles, as the trio combined for 11 points off the attack. Ten unforced errors from the Blue and White spelled further trouble, allowing DLSU to claim the second set at 17-25.

Dy, Tiamzon, and Cheng then continued their onslaught in the third set, leading the Lady Spikers’ on a 15 point assault. Eventually, an attack down the line from Desiree Cheng served as the final blow for Lady Eagles, concluding the set and match at 19-25.  

With the elimination round wrapped up, the third-seeded Lady Eagles face a mountain to climb in the Final Four round, pitted in an all or nothing firefight against the twice-to-beat Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws on Saturday, April 21 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Set Scores

Ateneo-DLSU: 24-26, 17-25, 19-25

Box Score

Ateneo: Tolentino- 15, Madayag- 8, Maraguinot- 6, Samonte- 6, Wong- 5, de Leon- 3, Gequillana- 1

DLSU: Dy- 13, Cheng- 12, Tiamzon- 11, Baron- 9, Cobb- 7, Ipac- 4