THE ATENEO-MOTOLITE Lady Eagles took down the Tacloban Lady Warays in four sets, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19, in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference on Saturday, November 3, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Lady Eagles Head Coach Oliver Almadro fielded his usual starting lineup featuring Bea De Leon, Maddie Madayag, Ponggay Gaston, Vanie Gandler, Kay Tolentino, Deanna Wong, and Dani Ravena at libero. Gaston was replaced by Kim Gequillana and then Jules Samonte in the latter parts of the match. Rookies Jaja Maraguinot and Bela Peralta were given playing time off the bench.

Veteran middles Madayag and De Leon combined for a total of 27 points with nine coming from kill-blocks. Wong was also everywhere on offense, notching eight points and 28 excellent sets. Gandler pitched in with 11 points while Samonte, who only played in the third and fourth set, contributed eight.

Ateneo’s relentless attacking in the first set helped put the Lady Eagles in the lead heading into the second TTO, 16-10. A powerful cross-court hit by Gaston forced the Lady Warays to call their last timeout in the latter part of the set, 21-16. An attack error by Tacloban’s Heather Guino-o surrendered the set point at 25-19.

Both teams fought hard in the second set with the score going back and forth. A down-the-line service ace by Madayag put the Lady Eagles ahead late in the set, 18-17. The Fighting Warays were unable to win the lead back due to Ateneo’s stellar defense at the net. A late run capped off by a triple block won the set for the Katipunan-based squad, 25-21.

The Blue and White were off to a strong start at the open of the third set but unforced attack errors allowed Tacloban to gain a sizeable lead at the second TTO, 11-16. A down-the-line hit by Guino-o gave the Lady Warays a seven-point cushion, 15-22. The collegiate squad then went on a 6-1 run in an attempt to take the match in straight sets but the Fighting Warays were able to score on consecutive rallies to force another set, 21-25.

In the following set, an early run by Tacloban handed Ateneo a four-point deficit heading into the first TTO, 4-8. However, multiple kills by Samonte and a block eventually allowed the Lady Eagles to take the lead heading into the second TTO, 16-15. Consecutive kills by Samonte gave her team a five-point lead, 21-16. The Blue and White responded to Tacloban’s 3-0 run with a 4-0 run to take the set. The match point came off a kill block that was set up by a strong Samonte serve, 25-19

“Believe in yourself always and don’t doubt,” were the words Almadro told Samonte prior to her magnificent display against the Lady Warays. The veteran, who played as both the utility and open spiker in the latter parts of the match, followed Almadro’s instruction and remained versatile and ready.

The next match for the Ateneo-Motolite Lady Eagles will be against Iriga-Navy at 6:00 PM, on Sunday, November 4 at the same venue.

Set Score

Ateneo-TAC: 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19

Box Scores

Ateneo: Madayag – 14, De Leon – 13, Gandler – 11, Raagas – 10, Wong – 8, Samonte – 8, Gaston – 4, Gequillana – 3, Ravena – 1

TAC: Guino-o – 16, Pacres – 13, Prado – 12, Esguerra – 9, Bicar – 7, Delos Reyes – 4, Marzan – 2