THE ATENEO Men’s Volleyball Team (AMVT) continues its University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 with a straight-set loss against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Spikers, 18-25, 31-33, 22-25. The match was held earlier today at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Today’s loss now gives the Blue Eagles a 1-2 win-loss standing in the tournament.
The Blue Eagles were off to a slow start as they were met with a 3-0 run in favor of DLSU. Despite an impressive defensive showing from Team Captain Lance de Castro, Ateneo failed to cover DLSU attacker Noel Kampton and his hefty kills, 7-16. The Green Spikers continued to put pressure on Ateneo defenders with well-targeted attacks until outside hitter Abai Llenos’ loaded serve cut DLSU’s lead down to four, 12-16. Despite rookie Jian Salarzon’s effective defense at the net, the Blue Eagles still failed to keep up with DLSU’s speed of play, allowing Kampton to claim the first set from the right wing, 18-25.
The Blue and White mounted a rocky climb to catch the lead in the second set, making alternate score-loss rallies with the Taft-based squad. After gaining momentum from a block point, Ateneo’s wing spikers and middle blockers delivered kills past DLSU, 8-6.
De Castro’s excellent digs to setter James Licauco allowed rookie Charles Absin and Salarzon to deceive the DLSU defenders, pulling the lead up to three points, 14-11. However, Absin’s substitution for service specialist Leinuel Crisostomo for the 20th point proved ineffective against DLSU’s John Mark Ronquillo, as his two sharp attacks were left uncovered, 19-19.
Both teams were at a deadlock in the last portion of the second canto, but Ken Batas’ kill stalled the Green Spiker’s race to claim another set, 24-24. Both teams continued to struggle for set point, with Ateneo just marginally obtaining the lead. However, the Blue Eagles failed to finish the set following Salarzon’s attack for the fourth set point due to Kampton’s speedy kill, 29-29. Llenos’s service error followed by Batas’s attack error handed DLSU the upper hand, 31-32, and the second set was finally secured by La Salle after seven set point attempts from Ateneo, 31-33.
Hungry to bounce back from the extended set loss, Salarzon and Batas opened Set 3 with clean kills and a block from Batas at 3-1. Ateneo continued their good offensive form with kills from both wings to keep the lead at 14-11 until DLSU Team Captain Vince Maglinao shattered Ateneo’s defense with speedy kills to take the lead, 14-15. Despite service specialist Leinuel Crisostomo’s ace at 21-19, Ateneo failed to pull away and Maglinao continued to deliver with offensive prowess, 22-23. After using a quick kill to bring the Green Spikers to match point, the Blue Eagles’ last attempts to save the match landed out of bounds, 22-25.
The Blue Eagles will look to bounce back in their next game against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, on Wednesday, March 8, at 4:00 PM at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Set Scores:
18-25, 31-33, 22-25
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Salarzon – 14, Batas – 13, Llenos – 10, Gopio – 4, Absin – 4, Crisostomo -1, Licauco -1, Sendon – 1
DLSU: Kampton – 17, Ronquillo – 13, Anima – 13, Maglinao – 11, Del Pilar – 4, Serrano – 1
