In line with the return of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball Tournament, this weekly series will analyze the state of the Ateneo Blue Eagles as they start to defend their crown for Season 84.
IN LIGHT of their 12th Final Four appearance in the last 13 seasons, the Ateneo Blue Eagles have improved from their initial lackluster performance in the first elimination round. These improvements were sparked through necessary adjustments made in the blocking department, paving the way for the rise of a formidable offense that helped crush their opponents.
Finishing the second round of elimination with an 8-6 record—only having lost to the National University (NU) Bulldogs and the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers—the Blue Eagles are slowly moving closer to their main goal of defending the championship title.
While Ateneo’s losses in the past week have stung, the Blue and White rose to the occasion as they defeated the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, the University of the East Lady Warriors, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, and the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons. The Blue Eagles finished strong in their last knockout match against the Lady Falcons, conquering their opponents in three straight sets to claim the last spot in the Final Four.
1. Establishing a defensive wall for Katipunan
Jill: In Ateneo’s previous games en route to the semifinals, Alexis Miner worked to consistently put up defensive walls for the Katipunan-based squad. At the end of the elimination round, Miner averaged 0.53 blocks per set for a total of 28 blocks—making her the second-best blocker of Season 84. Evidently, the Blue Eagles’ starting middle blocker has been instrumental in effectively stopping opponents’ offensive strategies.
In the first round of eliminations, Miner struggled with her role as a middle blocker in the UAAP senior’s division—compared to the junior’s division where she was awarded the Best Middle Blocker title. In our first weekly takeaways, we noted how the middle blockers of Ateneo, including Miner, should be trusted offensively by setters Jaja Maraguinot and Takako Fujimoto through quick or running plays. Since the 6-foot Miner was given more plays in the middle, she eventually stepped up her game—scoring not only through blocking but also through her near-unstoppable transition offense.
From an offensive and defensive standpoint, the first-year recruit from FEU-Diliman remains a crucial player for the Blue Eagles. In Ateneo’s game against the UP Fighting Maroons, Miner continued to improve her play, recording a personal best of eight blocks and nine attacks. After her stellar performance against UP, she boosted her team once again in the playoff game against Adamson as she chalked 16 points off 12 attacks, two blocks, and two service aces—proving her immense potential when Ateneo needed it the most.
Miner can further improve her game by consistently establishing a defensive wall for the defending champions, similar to the current ranked number one and number three blockers in the tournament, DLSU’s Thea Gagate and Fifi Sharma. Gagate and Sharma combined for a total of 19 points each in Ateneo’s previous game against DLSU, adding to Gagate’s total tally of 30 blocks—compared to Miner’s 28—while Sharma trails behind as the third-best middle blocker with 25 blocks.
Ultimately, the Ateneo setters’ decision to distribute more balls to their middle blocks has improved their offensive strategy. Coming into the Final Four, Miner—along with the rest of her teammates—must continue to dominate the middle by establishing a formidable defensive wall for the Katipunan-based squad to defend their crown.
2. Behind the scenes of Ateneo’s defense
Kristen: Contributing to the defensive maneuvers of the Blue Eagles is the third-year libero Roma Doromal, who is currently the UAAP’s third-best receiver, recording a 44.44% reception efficiency at the end of Round 2.
Looking back at the start of the season when Ateneo dug a 0-3 losing pit for themselves, we see that the early struggles could be attributed to their poor showings on their floor defense that resulted in an ineffective offense. Errors mounted for the defending champions, who had difficulty recovering despite the potential of the rookie-laden team.
A crucial turnaround occurred for the Blue and White when Doromal was taken off the bench and was given more opportunities to appear in the scoresheets. Despite still falling short against the Lady Falcons in their Round 1 matchup, Doromal recorded 47.06% in digs and 25% in reception to commemorate her first game as Ateneo’s floor general. The young libero had another strong performance during their first round win against FEU, where she recorded a 66.67% efficiency in receiving. Since then, Doromal has been instrumental in handling the difficult first balls given to their side of the court.
With stronger floor coverage—and proving that a good offense should always be built on a sturdy defense—Ateneo was made more capable of converting points from minimized errors and cleaner plays. The improved playing style has also significantly increased the confidence of their spikers, who have overcome their reluctance to challenge the opponents’ blockers as they were assured of coverage from the libero each time their attacks were checked at the net.
Consequently, Ateneo continues to reap positive results—evidenced by their current standings and their huge playoff win against the Lady Falcons. While the Blue Eagles have more work to do as they climb the Final Four stepladder towards the championship crown, Doromal’s consistency significantly increases their chances of keeping the title in Katipunan.
3. One Big Faith
Anton: There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the heart and soul of the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team is none other than star player Faith Nisperos. Coming into her first full season with the Blue Eagles, Nisperos has been tasked to carry the young team to success in hopes of defending their title.
However, this has proved to be difficult since most of the team’s core players—including Kat Tolentino, Bea De Leon, Deanna Wong, and Ponggay Gaston—have all graduated and moved on to the professional leagues. This places heavy pressure on the young Nisperos to succeed, especially after her dominant stint in the UAAP Junior’s Tournament with the NU Lady Bullpups and in high school where she was a standout. As she enters the bigger league, it is important to take a look at how she performed in her first full season.
The rookie stalwart filled the statistics sheets for the entirety of the elimination round and ranked second in scoring—only five markers behind the league scoring leader Eya Laure who finished the eliminations with 272 points. Aside from being one of the scoring leaders, Nisperos was also fifth in spiking, reaching just under 35% attacking efficiency. In addition to her precise offense, Nisperos’ service is also ranked one of the best in the league, as she is able to put up 23 aces in 198 attempts—placing her at the number two spot in average aces per set.
In spite of the high stakes, the Queen Eagle fulfilled expectations of being the star player. One of Nisperos’ tests late in the season was an intense five-set battle with the DLSU Green Archers, in which she popped off for 29 points in the loss. Nisperos once again proved her mettle in the succeeding games as Ateneo quickly bounced back from the heartbreaking defeat and tramped over UP—with Nisperos dropping 19 points to force a playoff game for the last spot in the Final Four. In their following do-or-die game against AdU, the Davao-based outside hitter had an excellent all-around performance with 22 points on 18 spikes, two blocks, and two aces to send her team into the step-ladder tournament.
It’s safe to say that the 22-year old spiker has made a name for herself in the UAAP, and will continue to raise eyebrows as she progresses in her young career. While it may be too early to speculate whether Nisperos has filled the shoes of Ateneo’s past phenoms, rest assured that she is on the right path to reaching great heights should she choose to take on the challenge.
