THE ATENEO Blue Eagles began their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Beach Volleyball campaign with two losses on just the first day. The first game was a straight-set defeat to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers (11-21, 14-21) while the second game was a close loss to the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in two sets (14-21, 20-22). Both games were played on September 24 at Sands at SM by the Bay in Pasay City.

The all-rookie team currently sits with two losses for the first day. Other teams without a win include the De La Salle University (DLSU) and the University of the Philippines (UP).

Game 1 vs. UST

Early on, the Blue Eagles suffered heavily from UST’s deadly serves and were down by three after surrendering a service ace, 2-5. Ineffective attacks along with errors proved to be Ateneo’s downfall as a wide spike by Kurt Aguilar put them behind by nine at the technical timeout (TTO), 6-15. A block by UST’s Krung Arbasto finished the set, 11-21.

The game was tight in the first half of the second set, but the Blue and White were leading, 11-10, at the TTO, thanks to a lucky service ace by Aguilar. However, a quick 4-0 run by UST prompted Ateneo to call time with the score standing at 12-15. Errors continued to plague the Katipunan-based duo and a block on Abai Llenos finished the match, 14-21.

Game 2 vs. UE

Hoping to make a comeback from their loss, the Blue Eagles managed to string together a set of winners to pull ahead, 5-1. Errors plagued the young team once more, however, and eventually cost them their lead. A mistake at the net by Aguilar gave UE a five-point lead at 10-15. The Red Warriors eventually took the set with a spike to the corner, 14-21.

The score remained competitive in the second set and a block by Aguilar put Ateneo ahead coming into the TTO, 11-10. Another block by Aguilar widened the deficit to three, 14-11. However, the Blue Eagle tandem let a 5-1 run go unanswered which put UE ahead, 15-16. The battle for the set was tight but a service ace scored on Aguilar closed out any hopes for a third set, 20-22.

“It was a learning experience,” commented Aguilar after playing his first game on the sand for the Blue and White. Team Captain Llenos emphasised the need to work on passing, playing smarter, and defending better in the coming days.

The next game for the Blue Eagles will be against the National University (NU) Bulldogs at 10:40 pm on Tuesday, September 25 at the same venue.

Set Scores

Ateneo-UST: 11-21, 14-21

Ateneo-UE: 14-21, 20-22