FACING AN all too familiar foe, the Ateneo Lady Eagles came out on top against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses in four sets, 25-17, 26-28, 25-16, 25-18, to take Game 1 of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Collegiate Conference Semifinals at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
With the absence of Team Captain Ponggay Gaston due to a UAAP Beach Volleyball outing, star rookie Faith Nisperos stole the show as she tallied 19 points. Erika Raagas and Vannie Gandler each chipped in with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Seasoned setter Jaja Maraguinot stuffed the stat sheet as well, racking up 21 excellent sets, four spikes, and two aces to sharply orchestrate the Ateneo offense.
Flying high from the get-go, the Lady Eagles took on an early three-point advantage in the first set thanks to an offensive outburst from Nisperos, 8-5. Shortly afterward, the whole crew got in rhythm to make six straight, including two service aces from Maraguinot, heading into the second technical timeout (TTO), 16-8. With little response from the Tigresses, who struggled to control their attack errors, the Blue and White took the set following a back row attack from Nisperos, 25-15.
Ateneo continued to dictate the game well into the second set after putting up a 7-1 run until the first TTO, 8-4. Following this, UST finally broke their silence and looked to the firepower of ace sophomore Ejiya Laure and rookie Imee Hernandez to take and maintain the lead heading into the second TTO, 15-16. After furious back-and-forth runs, the Tigresses were able to push to set point, which quickly turned into a deuce after an off-the-block kill from Nisperos, 24-24. Despite back-to-back attacks from Nisperos, UST won the set after a kill block from Hernandez, 26-28.
Impressive serves and tight net-defense gave the Lady Eagles an early advantage in the third set, 8-5. As UST scrambled to correct their attack errors, Ateneo easily took advantage and continued their offensive barrage into the second TTO, 16-7. With the Tigresses in disarray, the Blue and White quickly ended the set following a cross-court kill from Gandler, 25-16.
The fourth set started much closer than the past sets as UST’s Rachelle Roldan started to catch fire until right after the first TTO, 8-7. However, more offensive infractions plagued Ateneo’s rival and a late barrage of attacks from Co-captain Jules Samonte gave the Lady Eagles a comfortable 19-12 lead. Not before long, an off the block kill from Gandler gave the first semifinals match to the Blue and White, 25-18.
With the semifinals advantage, the Lady Eagles are only one more win away from securing a seat at the finals. They will face UST once more for championship contention on Wednesday, October 2, 9:00 AM, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Set Scores:
Ateneo-UST: 25-15, 26-28, 25-16, 25-18
