In line with the ongoing University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball tournament, this weekly series will analyze the state of the Ateneo Lady Eagles in their journey to reclaim the volleyball crown.
Recap of the week
FRESH OFF a convincing straight-set victory over the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, the Ateneo Lady Eagles entered their match against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors with hopes of getting a similar result. An excellent defensive performance from the Lady Eagles saw the Blue and White triumph over the Lady Warriors in four sets, 25-14, 18-25, 25-13, 25-18. Kat Tolentino led the scoring with a total of 22 points, while Deanna Wong put up a then-career high of 50 excellent sets.
The Lady Eagles then took on the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons four days later with a goal of bagging a fourth consecutive win. The Lady Eagles’ heartstrong mantra was on full display late in the fourth set as the Blue and White found themselves edging closer towards defeat down 16-22. Unwilling to surrender the match, the Lady Eagles then put up an 11-2 scoring run to change the tide and claim the set at 26-24. The standout performer for this contest was Deanna Wong– who put up a new career high of 63 excellent sets.
Upcoming Games
Wednesday, April 4, 2:00 PM vs. University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Tigers (4-7) at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City
Saturday, April 7, 4:00 PM vs. University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons (3-8) at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City
1. Lady Eagles lead the league in spiking, blocking, and setting statistics.
With a number of 1,506, the Lady Eagles sit second to NU (1,452) in terms of the fewest total spiking attempts. However, despite the relatively low tally, the Lady Eagles are the most efficient of all teams as they have tallied a success rate of 30.94% to sit on top as the best spiking team in the division.
Meanwhile, in terms of blocking, the Lady Eagles currently lead the league with an average of 2.53 blocks per set. Additionally, the Lady Eagles find themselves as the only team in the division with a kill block tally over the one hundred mark with 114.
When it comes to total attempts in the setting category, the Lady Eagles once again trail NU in the second to last place with a tally of 1,276. However, the Lady Eagles make up for the low number of sets by leading the division with an average of 9.69 per set.
2. Improved blocking, receiving remain keys to Lady Eagles’ success
Before the tournament’s start, Coach Tai Bundit admitted that defense was one of the team’s biggest concerns. Early in the first round, poor blocking and reception plagued the Lady Eagles against NU and FEU as the Lady Eagles found themselves giving up numerous points by way of service aces and spikes down-the-line. However, Bea de Leon (26 kill blocks), Jules Samonte (24 kill blocks), and Maddie Madayag’s (23 kill blocks) contributions as of late on the defensive end have been invaluable as the Lady Eagles are now the best blocking team according to the official UAAP team rankings. The injection of Ponggay Gaston into the libero position also seems to have solved the team’s reception woes as she appeared on the stat sheet for receiving with 17/34 excellent receives against UE and 26/43 against Adamson.
3. The Brilliance of Deanna Wong
Wong’s performances in the games versus UE and Adamson were nothing short of stellar. She showed incredible maturity and confidence in both games as she helped rack up numbers on the board by setting up numerous combination plays and even a few dump attempts. Her performance versus UE earned her numerous plaudits as she put up a then-career high number of 50 excellent sets (Previous was 45) to see the Lady Eagles through the match. Four days later, Wong would outdo her stellar showing against UE by tallying a career high number of 63 excellent sets. Before the season, questions were asked if Wong could fill the shoes of former team captain and previous starting setter Jia Morado. However, if Wong could find the consistency to put in these types of performances on a regular basis, the Lady Eagles’ offense is certainly in more than capable hands.
