THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws in five thrilling sets, 14-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-12 in the 81st season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Sunday, February 24, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Lady Eagles Head Coach Oliver Almadro fielded his usual starting lineup of Deanna Wong, Kat Tolentino, Maddie Madayag, Bea De Leon, Ponggay Gaston, Jules Samonte, and Kim Gequillana at libero. Rookies Vanie Gandler, Jaja Maraguinot, and Jeycel Delos Reyes also made appearances in the match.

Tolentino was once again the top scorer with 19 total points to go along with her 17 attacks and two blocks. At her side was Madayag who recorded 14 points including 12 attacks. Manning the floor defense was Gaston with 18 excellent receives.

The two teams kept pace with one another early one in the first set. A drop ball from FEU’s setter, Kyle Negrito, sent the Tamaraws into the first TTO with a two-point advantage over the Lady Eagles. Ateneo began to struggle as a 4-0 FEU run in the middle of the set forced Coach Almadro to call a timeout at 9-13 after a lethal combination play from FEU Captain Jerrili Malabanan. The Lady Tamaraws once again led in the second TTO with a 6-point advantage after a misreceive from the Ateneo side.

FEU’s lead then ballooned to 10-20 after a 6-0 run, interrupted by Samonte who stopped the bleeding after a powerful down the line spike. The efforts of the Lady Eagles to catch up in the latter part of the first set, however, were not enough as Gaston’s misreceive ended the set in favor of FEU, 25-14.

After an ace from FEU, the Lady Eagles began the second set on a better note with a 4-0 run. This was answered by the Lady Tamaraws with a run of their own. Ateneo once again struggled with their floor defense as FEU sent a barrage of attacks coming from all sides. At 14-15, the Tamaraws went on a 6-0 run, in which all points were caused by poor reception on the part of the Lady Eagles. While Ateneo improved considerably from the first set, Malabanan’s cross court attack ultimately ended the second set, 19-25.

The Lady Eagles started strong in the third set as they entered the first TTO with a three-point advantage over FEU thanks to a cleverly placed drop from Madayag, 8-5. The set then became a back-and-forth affair, but efforts from Samonte, Madayag, and Wong sparked a crucial 3-0 run midway through the third set, 19-16. Providing more stable defense for Ateneo, Ravena truly became the defensive spark plug in this frame as Gequillana did not see action. Tolentino powered the Lady Eagles to victory with a point off the block, 25-21.

Ateneo then came alive in the fourth set. Everything was working for the Blue and White as their floor defense successfully converted lethal attack points. FEU used up both of their timeouts just midway through the set after an explosive spike from Tolentino, 14-7. The Lady Eagles entered the second TTO with a seven-point advantage after a block point from Tolentino, 16-9.

Ateneo continued to assert dominance throughout the fourth set and pulled away with a 3-0 run and arrived at set point, 24-18, thanks to a drop ball from Team Captain De Leon. Samonte ended the set and with a cross court kill which sent the game to a deciding fifth set, 25-18.

The final set was another battle of returning points. Ateneo maintained a steady lead, which was surrendered after two attacks from FEU, forcing the Lady Eagles to call a timeout at 5-7. De Leon tied the game at eight-all after a service ace. The match reached another stalemate after Madayag’s running spike at 11-all. FEU’s Domingo committed a crucial error at 12-all that sent Ateneo on a final 3-0 run to end the set and the match after a cross court kill from Tolentino, 15-12.

After the game, Coach Almadro commented on his team’s lackluster performance in the first half of the match. “We’re really down. We don’t know what to do already. Our legs are not working,” he said. “Hindi namin alam kung anong nangyari sa amin during the first two sets (We did not know what was happening to us in the first two sets). We really planned for it pero walang lumalabas.”

Kat Tolentino, the best scorer of the match, shared that the role of faith in the team’s recovery. “That [faith and trusting in God] is what really got us through the fifth set. It wasn’t anymore our skills but our trust in Him that He’ll take us to the end,” she said. “In the third and fourth, that was teamwork, I think. Like Maddie said, our teammates were there for each other… We really worked as a team in those third and fourth sets. It shows how much teamwork can make a huge difference.”

Ateneo will look to build on their 2-1 record on Sunday, March 3 at 2:00 PM against the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Set Score:

Ateneo-FEU: 14-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-12