THE ATENEO-MOTOLITE Lady Eagles triumphed in five sets over the still-winless Adamson-Akari (AdU) Lady Falcons, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 15-12 in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference on Sunday, October 14 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Lady Eagle Head Coach Oliver Almadro fielded a starting lineup featuring Bea De Leon, Maddie Madayag, Kat Tolentino, Vanie Gandler, Kim Gequillana, Deanna Wong, and Dani Ravena at libero. Ponggay Gaston replaced Gequillana for most of the match while Jules Samonte played over Gandler in the middle sets. Rookie setter Jaja Maraguinot shared minutes with Wong while libero Bela Peralta was put in charge of the defence in place of Ravena for most of the game.

Tolentino top-scored with 28 points and a team high five blocks to go along with three service aces. Off the bench, Samonte garnered 11 points while her beach volleyball partner Gaston had nine points and an impressive 21 of 34 excellent digs. Rookie libero Bela Peralta finished with 24 excellent digs and 12 excellent receives.

The Lady Eagles had trouble getting the first ball early on which allowed Adamson to go on multiple scoring runs. A serve to the corner forced Ateneo to call an early timeout and change liberos, 6-11.

Ateneo had a hard time gaining momentum due to unforced errors while the Lady Falcons manage to put points away with several smart hits. A kill off a block gave Adamson the first set, 17-25.

The Katipunan-based squad still had trouble getting their groove early in the second set as they headed into the first technical timeout (TTO) down by three, 5-8. Errors on the Adamson side brought the score close but the Lady Falcons were able to keep the lead at the second TTO, 13-16. Tolentino’s block further into the set brought the scores level, 19-19.

A cross-court hit by Samonte off a dig by De Leon won them the lead, 21-20, with a service error by the Lady Falcons sealing the set, 25-23.

The third set was a tight battle between both sides, with neither team gaining a significant lead all throughout the set. A block by Madayag put the Lady Eagles ahead at the second TTO, 16-15. Samonte’s personal scoring run allowed her team to pull away with her kill off the block, putting the Blue and White up by four, 20-16. Assisted by errors from the Lady Falcons, the Katipunan-based squad won the third set off a service error, 25-20.

The fourth set looked like a repeat of the last game’s second set wherein the Lady Eagles entered the first TTO scoreless at 0-8. Strong Adamson serves and unforced errors doomed Ateneo by the second TTO, 6-16. The Lady Eagles looked to make a comeback with Gaston and Tolentino racking up points from the service line and Gandler notching her fair share of kills, but it was too little, too late, as a net touch violation ensured a fifth set, 21-25.

Tolentino started the final set on fire, scoring six of the team’s eight points with the last a service ace that landed right at the end line, 8-3. A 5-1 Adamson scoring run capped off by an ace cut the Ateneo lead to one, 9-8. The two collegiate teams then traded 3-0 scoring runs as neither team could build a significant lead, 12-11. Cross court kills from Samonte, Tolentino, and Gandler won them the set and the match, 15-12.

According to Almadro, the Lady Eagles have started slow in recent games. He attributed this to the busy schedule of the student-athletes. “Today is not a very good day for us, but we really thank the Lord, and I really thank my players that they did not give up,” commented the veteran mentor.

The next game for the Ateneo-Motolite Lady Eagles will be against the Tacloban Fighting Warays at 4:00 PM, on Wednesday, October 17 in the same venue. The Lady Eagles now hold a win-loss record of 4-1 in the conference.

Set Score

Ateneo-AdU: 17-25, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 15-12

Box Scores

Ateneo: Tolentino – 28, Samonte – 11, Madayag – 9, Gaston – 9, De Leon – 6, Gandler – 4, Wong – 3, Maraguinot – 1, Gequillana – 1

AdU: Flora – 25, Permentilla – 15, Ave – 12, Pinar – 9, Macaslang – 8, Igao – 4