IN A grueling back-and-forth battle, the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team were taken down by the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 17-25, 26-24, 28-26, 19-25, 7-15. The five-set bout took place earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena in the City of Pasay.
This loss drops the Blue Eagles’ record to 0-2 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
In a valiant effort, Sophia Buena led the Blue and White with 16 points. Meanwhile, Alexis Miner and Geezel Tsunashima chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively. For the Lady Bulldogs, Vange Alinsug and Mhicaela Belen shined by chalking up 21 and 18 points, respectively, in their team’s winning performance.
Commencing today’s matchup, the Blue Eagles and Lady Bulldogs traded points seeing both teams in a stalemate, 2-2. A service error and miscommunication on a receiving effort would see Ateneo forfeit two straight points, 2-4. As the set reached its midpoint, Ateneo would keep a close distance with NU via multiple powerful kills by Miner, a vicious Lyann De Guzman point-off of Cham Maaya, and a Tsunashima attack, 9-12.
In response, the Lady Bulldogs staged a 4-1 run that extended their cushion to six. Coming in late in the set, Jennifer Delos Santos immediately made an impact by gifting the Blue Eagles two straight service aces, cutting the NU lead to four, 14-18. In the latter stages, Ateneo’s floor defense woes were highlighted by the Lady Bulldog Alyssa Solomon’s swift kills. On top of this, the Katipunan-based squad had numerous unanswered drop shots, eventually leading to the Blue Eagles losing in the first set, 17-25.
Ateneo entered the second set with a newfound vigor, blazing to a 4-1 start courtesy of Buena’s cross court attacks. With their overwhelming defense, NU crawled back into the contest, tying the set, 8-8. Tsunashima regained the momentum for the Blue Eagles with two straight points, extending their lead to three, 12-9. In the longest rally of the contest, Miner continued her offensive heroics with a drop shot, 16-14. Both teams then entered a slugfest that included deadlocks on five separate occasions. In the final stalemate, Miner once again bagged a timely point to claim the set, 26-24.
The third canto proved to be just as tightly contested as the previous with neither team leading by more than three points. After going down 6-8, Ateneo responded with a 3-0 run to take the lead. In the wire-to-wire final stages, Buena and De Guzman overpowered NU’s defense, snatching the set, 28-26, and the 2-1 lead.
With a chance to win the game, Ateneo started off slow, committing multiple attack errors. Miner battled back for the Blue Eagles with ferocious attacks, bringing Ateneo back to within one, 14-15. However, the Ateneo defense would crumble as NU concluded the set with a 10-5 run, forcing a fifth set.
In the do-or-die set, the Blue Eagles failed to recapture their momentum as they failed to counter attacks from NU’s Belen and were overwhelmed by NU’s excellent block defense, sealing the set for the Lady Bulldogs, 7-15.
Looking to bounce back from the loss, the Blue Eagles will look to bag their first win of the season against the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons next Wednesday at 5:00 PM in the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Box scores:
Ateneo (2): Buena – 16, Miner – 14, Tsunashima – 12, De Guzman – 11, Sulit – 8, Pacia – 2, Delos Santos – 2
NU (3): Belen – 21, Alinsug – 18, Solomon – 12 Maaya – 15, Pangilinan – 8, Bello – 4, Lamina – 3, Panique – 3, Denura -1
Set scores: 25-20, 17-25, 23-25, 18-25, 7-15
Standings (W-L)
- DLSU Lady Spikers (2-0)
- UST Golden Tigresses (2-0)
- NU Lady Bulldogs (1-1)
- AdU Lady Falcons (1-1)
- UE Lady Red Warriors (1-1)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (0-2)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (0-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (0-2)
