THE ATENEO Blue Eagles were handed their fifth loss in the 2025 V-League Collegiate Challenge Women’s Volleyball Tournament, bowing down to the Adamson Lady Falcons in straight sets, 22-25, 17-25, 11-25. The match took place earlier today, September 7, at Paco Arena in the City of Manila.
Despite facing an early deficit after aggressive attacks from the Lady Falcons, 1-2, the Blue Eagles quickly matched Adamson’s attacking rhythm to level the board, 2-2.
Outside hitter Grydelle Matibag provided Katipunan with the first lead after two aces, 5-3, but Adamson stalwart Shaina Nitura marked her return to the frontline with two emphatic kills from the left pin, 5-5. Alexia Montoro then responded with a speedy kill, 6-5, allowing Ateneo to remain in the driver’s seat as Adamson committed both aces and errors coming into the first technical timeout, 8-7.
The Lady Falcons reinforced their attacking front with Frances Mordi spearheading the charge to force a deadlock, 10-10. Refusing to give Adamson further fuel, Ateneo playmaker KC Cortez connected with Zey Pacia in the left wing for a kill, 11-10. The Lady Falcons then fell victim to unforced errors, granting Ateneo a 5-2 run, 15-13, allowing Pacia to power through the block and call the technical timeout in Ateneo’s favor, 16-13.
The lead remained with the Blue Eagles following a quick attack by Dona Mae De Leon, 18-16, but an exchange of attacks from both teams kept the match at a standstill, 21-21.
Despite the Ateneo floor coverage persevering against Adamson’s attacks, the Blue Eagles were unable to respond with kills of their own due to Nitura’s quick hits and the Lady Falcons’ impenetrable wall, 21-24. In an effort to bounce back, Cortez connected with Matibag for a quick attack, 22-24, but Abegail Segui immediately claimed the set for Adamson with an off-the-block hit, 25-22.
As one of the only veterans among the Ateneo second stringers, Pacia continued her good form in the second set, creating a two-point lead for Ateneo, 5-3. However, the Loyola Heights’ floor coverage weakened as backrow defenders struggled to deliver accurate first balls to setter Taks Fujimoto, 5-6. Capitalizing on the Blue Eagles’ defensive lapses, Nitura and Mordi commanded the court with powerful kills, 10-6, while Pacia worked alone to keep the Ateneo offense running, 10-8.
Despite being blemished by errors on the third touch, 11-11, the Lady Falcons maintained their advantage by executing combination plays with Nitura at the helm, 14-12. A single block from Mary Ann Del Moral and a backrow kill from Nitura then sparked a 6-2 run for Adamson, 20-15. With Pacia’s attacking attempts flying out of bounds, 15-23, costly errors ultimately granted Adamson a 2-0 set lead, 17-25.
At the final set, the Lady Falcons took advantage of Ateneo’s crumbling floor defense to secure an early, comfortable lead, 6-1. Ateneo struggled to piece together effective plays, as Blue Eagle spikers committed attack and reception errors, 4-13. With a fragmented floor in Loyola Heights, Adamson effortlessly executed a variety of attacks from all pins, 16-5.
While Pacia continued to hustle from the left wing, 6-16, the Blue Eagles remained at the mercy of their errors and weak floor defense, 7-19. Topping off her impressive showing, Nitura targeted Ateneo Libero Fiona Arroyo for two powerful kills, eventually claiming the straight-set victory, 25-11.
Hoping to exit the tournament on a high note, the Blue Eagles will face the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws on Wednesday, September 10, at 5:00 PM, in the same venue.
Set scores:
Ateneo (0) – AdU (3): 22-25, 17-25, 11-25
Current Standings (W/L)
- ADU Lady Falcons (7-0)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (4-1)
- DLS CSB Lady Blazers (3-2)
- UPHSD Lady Altas (2-3)
- CSJL Lady Knights (3-4)
- MU Lady Cardinals (1-5)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-5)
- AU Lady Chiefs (2-3)
