THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons in straight sets, 25-21, 25-15, 28-26 in the 81st season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Sunday, March 10 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 Erika Raagas and Jaja Maraguinot also saw action.

Madayag was the top scorer with 14 points, six of which came from massive block kills. Joining her in double-digits were Tolentino and Gaston who scored 12 points and 10 points, respectively.

The match began with a sharp ace from UP but the Lady Eagles answered back with an overwhelming 6-1 run, forcing the Lady Maroons to call a timeout early in the first set, 6-2. An attack error from Isa Molde sent Ateneo into the first technical timeout (TTO) with an output doubling the score of the Lady Maroons, 8-4. Not to be out done, UP fired back with a 6-1 run against the Blue and White to take the lead, 9-10. Madayag stopped the bleeding with a wall off a block to tie the game, 10-all. The Lady Eagles regained the lead after an ace from De Leon, 15-14, before Madayag’s kill block sent Ateneo into the second TTO with a slender lead, 16-14.

Samonte’s service ace at 21-17 forced UP to call their last timeout of the set. After three consecutive points for the Lady Eagles, UP was able to stop Ateneo’s run with a kill from Carlos, 23-18. The Lady Eagles arrived at set point courtesy of a service error from Molde, which fired UP to go on a 3-0 run, 24-21. Gaston spoiled any chance of a comeback after she scored off a UP block, 25-21.

Coming off hot from the first set, Gaston began the second frame of the match with a beautiful spike to zone six. Ateneo went on an early 3-0 run, capitalizing on UP’s struggling floor defense, 6-3. In an unfortunate sequence, a change of libero had to be made as UP’s Mirgie Bautista came in for Remeln Altomea after the former was carried off the court due to a bad fall while attempting to receive Madayag’s block.

Ateneo entered the first TTO with an 8-4 advantage after an attack error from the Lady Maroons. A drop ball from Wong that gave the Lady Eagles a five-point advantage, 14-9, before Samonte shut the door on UP’s offense to give the Lady Eagles a 16-12 lead heading into the second TTO. Tolentino came alive as if she were a seasoned middle spiker after a powerful kill from the center, 18-12, complemented by Madayag’s back-to-back quick spikes from the middle, 20-13.  The Lady Eagles arrived at set point after Wong connected with Madayag, 24-15. Ateneo took the second set, 25-15, after an attack error from Carlos.

Looking to redeem themselves, UP opened the third set with consecutive points off Ateneo’s errors, 0-2. Madayag regained control for the Lady Eagles after putting up a wall against the Lady Maroons’ offense to tie the game, 3-all. Wong was called for a double contact violation, cutting Ateneo’s lead down to one point but a service error from Tots Carlos allowed Ateneo to reach the first TTO with a two-point lead, 8-6. The Blue and White went on a hot 7-0 streak, interrupted by a kill from Molde to stop the bleeding for UP, 13-8.

The Lady Eagles were forced to call a timeout in an effort to stop UP’s 3-0 run, 14-11. As the final set progressed, however, the squad from Diliman could not seem to tame Tolentino as her spike to zone six propelled Ateneo to the second TTO, 16-12. The Lady Maroons tied the game at 17-all after Justine Dorog hammered down Ateneo’s open floor. Gaston’s attack error tied the game once more at 19-all before Team Captain De Leon’s quick kill gave Ateneo a one-point advantage, 21-20. Marian Buitre kept UP in the game, tying the set at 23-all and forcing Coach Almadro to things over with his side. A valiant UP squad saved two match points, but Wong’s drop ball ultimately sealed the win and converted Ateneo’s third match point, 28-26.

When asked about Ateneo’s performance, Coach Oliver Almadro insists that the Lady Eagles will continue to be better than their best in the succeeding games.

With this win, the Lady Eagles are now number one in the standings with a 4-1 record.  Ateneo will look to build on their four-game winning streak on Wednesday, March 13 at 2:00 PM against the Adamson Lady Falcons at the same venue.

Set Score:

Ateneo-UP: 25-21, 25-15, 28-26