THE ATENEO Blue Eagles shone brilliantly and earned a straight-set victory against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 25-16, 25-14, 25-14, earlier today at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
The win puts the Blue Eagles at 1-3 in the elimination round standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
The Blue Eagles built a comfortable lead to start the set with Vanie Gandler, Jaja Maraguinot, Faith Nisperos, and Lyann de Guzman all contributing to Ateneo’s offense, 8-4. Alexis Miner then secured a quick hit for Ateneo in the middle, increasing her team’s lead, 10-7. Ateneo continued to take advantage of FEU’s faulty offense, securing an 8-2 run to bolster their lead, 17-9.
Taking control of the middle for the Blue Eagles, Joan Narit picked up back-to-back points with a rejection at the net and a swift hit, 18-10. Despite FEU’s efforts to get back into the game, Maraguinot put a stop to the Tamaraws’ momentum with her tactical placement of the ball—increasing Ateneo’s lead, 23-14. To close the set, de Guzman and Narit’s combined offensive prowess secured the advantage for the Blue Eagles, 25-16.
In the second set, the Blue and White’s offensive dominance continued to shine with de Guzman and Gandler at the wings, 5-1, before Maraguinot shot a ball into the donut hole of FEU’s defense to assist Ateneo’s offense, 8-2. With Ateneo scrambling after a misreceived ball, FEU’s Ubaldo responded with a drop ball of her own to claim a point for the Lady Tamaraws, 12-5.
Looking to hold their lead, Narit and Gandler held the line for Ateneo with solid spikes to break FEU’s defense, 16-5. Maraguinot’s fluid distribution of her sets also proved crucial, allowing Narit and Nisperos to contribute to Ateneo’s scoring pool, 19-7. After a series of errors from the Blue and White, de Guzman finally ended the set with an attack from the outside, 25-14 in Ateneo’s favor.
FEU’s Mora kept her team going in the third and final set by finding creative ways to score, 2-3, through a drop ball and off-the-block play. Both teams were exchanging attack points until back-to-back errors from the Lady Tamaraws provided Ateneo its first lead in the set, 10-9. Gandler then capitalized on the Lady Tamaraws’ shaky defense by getting the ball through the blockers, 11-10. The Blue and White eventually pulled away after miscommunication points from FEU and a single-handed block from Miner, 16-11.
The same story continued for FEU as they were plagued with unforced errors throughout the set. Ebon tried to provide a spark in offense for the Lady Tamaraws, 22-14, but a transition play from Miner and two aces by Nisperos secured the Blue Eagles the win, 25-14.
Joan Narit proved influential in both Ateneo’s offense and defense, scoring a total of 10 points, and providing three blocks, while Maraguinot chipped in with 14 excellent sets and three points.
The Blue Eagles will face the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons next at 6:00 PM, on Saturday, May 14 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
Set Score:
Ateneo-FEU: 25-16, 25-14, 25-14
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Nisperos – 14, de Guzman – 12, Narit – 10, Miner – 7, Gandler 7, Maraguinot – 3
FEU: Tagaod – 10, Asis – 4, Medina – 4, Mora – 3, Ebon – 3, Ubaldo – 2, Fernandez – 1, Kiseo – 1
