THE ATENEO Lady Eagles dominated the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons, 25-13, 25-17, 25-23 on Wednesday, March 4, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This first win marks a strong start to Ateneo’s title defense in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Volleyball Tournament.
Veteran Kat Tolentino was the top scorer with 15 points while Jho Maraguinot contributed four points in her return to the UAAP. Star recruit Faith Nisperos made her debut with 10 points off 33 attempts. Jules Samonte, in her first collegiate game as a middle blocker, stuffed the stat sheet with five spikes, three kill blocks, and two service aces.
The Lady Eagles came out of the gates on fire to build a seven-point lead by the first technical timeout (TTO), 8-1. UP struggled to make up the deficit against a well-positioned Ateneo defense. Ateneo led by as much as 13 points after a block by Tolentino, 20-7. Tolentino eventually took set point with a drop ball over the double block.
It was a close battle at the start of the second set as the Blue and White’s errors slowed them down. Ateneo could not shake off their mistakes, prompting the team to call their first timeout of the game, 13-11. Nisperos met strong opposition from UP’s blockers but made up for it at the service line, baiting multiple errors and easy blocks. After six consecutive serves, UP called their last timeout, 21-14. Three consecutive kills by Samonte ended the set, 25-17.
The Katipunan-based squad led early in the third frame, but UP fought back and a Tots Carlos ace forced the Lady Eagles to regroup, 11-8. Ateneo found their groove again before consecutive aces by Isa Molde cut the deficit to just one, 19-18. An attack error by Nisperos gifted UP a chance to force the deuce, but a service error by Rose Cailing surrendered match point, 25-23.
With the game on the line, Tolentino urged the team to bring out their killer instinct. “I knew I didn’t want to extend the game more so I just kept telling them to finish it there and have no mercy, basically,” she said.
Up next on against the Lady Eagles is collegiate rival the De La Salle University Lady Spikers at 3:30 PM on Saturday, March 7, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
