THE ATENEO Lady Eagles were defeated by the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs in straight sets, 11-21, 14-21, in their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Beach Volleyball season opener on Monday, September 24 at Sands at SM by the Bay, Pasay City.
The season began with heartbreak on the sand as the Lady Eagles fell short to close out a debut win. Jules Samonte returned for her second UAAP Beach Volleyball season. Joining her was Captain Ponggay Gaston who made her debut while Erika Raagas started her rookie year on the sidelines.
The Lady Eagles began the game trailing the Lady Bulldogs in an exchange of back-to-back points until NU made an astonishing 7-1 run before the first technical time-out. Ateneo however, powered through this slump with their own 3-0 run, eventually taking over the Lady Bulldogs midway through the first set at 15-10. The effort on Ateneo’s part was short-lived, however, as NU managed to close out the first set with a convincing 21-11 finish from NU’s Mary Orillaneda’s consecutive aces.
[1st set] Orillaneda finishes the set with two consecutive service aces to wrap up their 5-0 run.
Ateneo 11 NU 21#UAAPBeachVolleyball pic.twitter.com/rf4xE3et9I
— James Gavina (@James_TheGUIDON) September 24, 2018
The second set started off with more errors that hampered the Lady Eagles. NU pulled away early on in the second set until Gaston was able to string up a few points by capitalizing on a variety of attacks. Ateneo’s errors began to kick in again as NU made another run when the Lady Bulldogs hit their fifteenth point with Ateneo stuck on 11. The Lady Eagles were only able to score three more points before NU finished the game off an error from Gaston, ending the set at 14-21.
[2nd set] Gaston’s attack error ends the match.
Ateneo 14 NU 21#UAAPBeachVolleyball pic.twitter.com/QuwYptAh0u
— James Gavina (@James_TheGUIDON) September 24, 2018
Coach JP Pareja commented on his tandem’s debut performance after the game, saying, “Kayang kaya ni Jules and Ponggay actually umatake nang maigi sa beach kaya lang dahil alam na alam ni NU gumalaw sa court, na outsmart nila sila Ponggay and Jules.”
(Jules and Ponggay are capable of attacking efficiently. However, because of NU’s court familiarity, they were able to outsmart Ponggay and Jules.)
Pareja also expressed how the Lady Eagles failed to fully utilize what they practiced in training, but asserted that he remains hopeful for a better performance from the girls in the upcoming games.
The next two games for the Ateneo Lady Eagles will be against the Season 80 champions, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses, followed by a matchup against the Adamson Lady Falcons on Tuesday, September 25, at the same venue.
Set Score
Ateneo-NU: 11-21, 14-21
