THE ATENEO Blue Eagles fell to the National University Lady Bulldogsin four sets, 8-25, 19-25, 25-16, 19-25, on October 16 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. This loss puts the Blue Eagles at 2nd rank in Pool C of the Shakey’s Super League.
Ateneo utilized its second stringers for the first set with rookies Gena Hora and Sophia Buena, alongside sophomore Lyann de Guzman. The Lady Bulldogs—last season’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champions— showed no mercy and instantly dominated over the Blue and White rookies with seamless combination plays finished with powerful kills. Without solid reception, Ateneo was unable to set up their offensive line and in the rare times they did, NU’s unwavering blockade responded accordingly, quickly closing the first set at 8-25 for NU.
Starting attackers such as Faith Nisperos and Vanie Gandler were made to play in the second set, while NU utilized their own bench unit with Joyme Cagande, Erin Pangilinan, Myrle Escanlar. Ateneo gained significant momentum from Gandler and Niseperos’ flight at the wings, forcing the Lady Bulldogs to call a technical timeout, 8-6 for Ateneo. However, a near-perfect setter to middle quick connection from the Lady Bulldogs brought the match to a tie at 11-11. Team Captain Nisperos fought hard for her squad to keep the lead, but NU maintained their relentless attacking and blocking, ending the second canto at 19-25 for the Lady Bulldogs.
To start off the third set, Nisperos took a hold of court momentum for her team after successfully blocking NUs best scorer Bella Belen. The Blue Eagles found their rhythm with commendable reception and sets that allowed Gandler and Nisperos to accumulate kills, leading to a 17-13 Ateneo advantage. Middle Blocker AC Miner capitalized on the squad’s scoring runs and displayed impressive agility with back-to-back running attacks that led Ateneo to win the set, 25-16.
Ateneo hitters maintained their offensive effort, but NU recovered vigorously with kills and blocks that gave them the lead. Soon enough, Ateneo faltered, most notably in their coverage at the net. The Lady Bulldogs consistently found holes in the Blue and White’s defense and eventually dominated the set, dispatching Ateneo in the fourth set, 25-19.
According to the Team Captain Nisperos, the team failed to anticipate the right plays for the match against the UAAP defending champions. She shared, “We lacked more preparation. Maraming lapses. Marami kaming pinagtrainingan na hindi lumabas today…The things we wanted to show, hindi namin napakita. (We lacked more preparations. We had several lapses. We trained for many things that we did not execute during the game. We weren’t able to show the things we wanted to.)”
Stayed tuned for more updates on the Shakey Super League as the Ateneo Blue Eagles look to redeem themselves in the succeeding rounds.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Gandler – 11, Nisperos – 11, Miner – 10, Narit – 10, Ng – 9, De Guzman – 6, Fujimoto – 3, Hora – 3, Tsunashima – 3, Buena – 2, Ildefonso – 2, Sulit – 1
NU: Lamina – 19, Toring – 18, Pangilinan – 10, Cagande – 9, Belen – 7, Robles – 7, Solomon – 6, Alinsug – 4, Escanler – 4, Mata – 3, Arroyo – 2, Maaya – 2
Set Score:
Ateneo-NU: 8-25, 19-25, 25-16, 19-25
