THE ATENEO Women’s Volleyball Team (AWVT) bagged their third-straight win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 tournament following a sweep over the Adamson (AdU) Lady Falcons, 25-23, 25-14, 25-23. The second-round contest took place earlier today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
With this victory, Ateneo remains undefeated in the second round for a share of fifth in the standings with the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons. Both teams currently hold a 4-5 record, one win behind the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers and the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses.
Taks Fujimoto was hailed Player of the Game after delivering 17 excellent sets, while scoring five points in the contest. The veteran setter’s command of the floor allowed co-captains AC Miner and Lyann De Guzman to thrive with 13 and 12 points each, respectively.
The opening sequences of the match saw Adamson’s Shaina Nitura and De Guzman engaging in an early tussle, which brought the game to an early standstill, 3-3. Miner supplemented the Team Captain’s offensive efforts with a couple of off-the-block conversions to momentarily put Ateneo ahead, 6-5.
Neither team gave an inch as the back-and-forth opening frame reached the middle stretches. Despite struggling to maintain their early lead, the Blue Eagles capitalized off of the Lady Falcons’ errors to keep the set well within reach, 12-13.
Determined to shift the momentum to the Blue Eagles, Chuatico converted back-to-back hits from the middle to cut Adamson’s lead to two, 18-20. Regaining their stride, the Blue Eagles sparked a quick 4-0 lead-taking run via Chuatico and De Guzman’s hits and a couple of Adamson miscues, 22-21.
Building on their newfound confidence, the Blue Eagles never looked back and secured the set after AdU incurred a foot fault error at the net, 25-23.
Similar to the first set, De Guzman and Miner quickly erased a 0-2 deficit in the second frame with their attacks from the wings. The captains, alongside Fujimoto’s service aces, spearheaded a 6-0 run for the Katipunan-based squad, 6-2.
The Blue Eagles then kept their groove throughout the set as Zey Pacia’s vicious spikes helped them build a sizable 17-8 advantage. With libero Sarah Hugo fortifying the back-row defense, Ateneo prevented Nitura from finding her usual connections, which was instrumental in holding the Lady Falcons to only 14 points in the set.
The Veloso-coached unit also produced six service aces to dictate the tempo. Ateneo’s brilliance on both ends of the floor eventually led to an Alexia Montoro through-the-block kill, concluding one of the team’s most dominant sets of the season, 25-14.
Despite finding themselves at yet another early deficit, Yvana Sulit’s ace and Miner’s sublime wing actions elevated the Blue Eagles’ scoring early in the third frame to seize control, 3-2. Building on this rhythm, Pacia’s rapid conversions intensified Ateneo’s hold of the lead, 8-5.
While De Guzman operated at will from the left wing, 12-10, the Blue Eagles struggled to keep Nitura in check as the rookie unleashed a barrage of attacks to even out the set at 16-apiece. Undeterred by the Lady Falcons’ outburst, the Blue Eagles remained persistent on the offensive zones, with Pacia’s service ace giving Ateneo a three-point advantage, 20-17.
Showcasing their veteran composure, De Guzman and Fujimoto tallied a variety of conversions to negate Nitura’s growing prominence at the backend of the frame, 24-23. The Blue Eagles’ prowling frontline ultimately forced an Adamson net error, ultimately sealing a set-sweep victory, 25-23.
The AWVT will look to leverage their momentum in an Ateneo-DLSU rivalry matchup on Wednesday, April 2, 1:00 PM at the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (3): Miner – 13, De Guzman – 12, Pacia – 10, Sulit – 7, Chuatico – 6, Fujimoto – 5, Montoro – 1
AdU (0): Nitura – 21, Mordi – 9, Villegas – 4, Dotte – 3, Nuique- 2, Jamili – 2, Sagaysay – 1, Sapienza – 1
Set scores:
Ateneo-AdU: 25-23, 25-14, 25-23
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Lady Bulldogs (8-1)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (6-3)
- DLSU Lady Spikers (5-3)
- UST Golden Tigresses (5-3)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (4-5)
- UP Fighting Maroons (4-5)
- AdU Lady Falcons (3-6)
- UE Lady Red Warriors (0-9)
