THE ATENEO Men’s Volleyball team witnessed their finals bid cut short in the 2025 V-League Collegiate Challenge, bowing down to the top-seeded De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Spikers in four sets, 25-22. 22-25, 19-25. 16-25. The do-or-die game took place earlier today, October 4, at the Ynares Center in the City of Montalban.

Early in the first set, Ateneo opposite hitter Amil Pacinio scored out of a broken play with an angled shot to put his team on the board, 1-1. As the unit from Katipunan was quickly bubbling up, DLSU middle blocker Issa Ousseini delivered a thunderous off-the-block attack, 1-2. Pacinio ended the Taft-based squad’s three-point run with an emphatic pipe attack, 4-7.

Despite the stellar passing of Ateneo Libero Lein Crisostomo, a variety of cutshots were executed by DLSU’s Eugene Gloria to close out the long rally, followed by Rui Ventura’s cross-court kill to ignite the green flame, 8-12. Enzo Gutierrez then answered back by orchestrating a textbook play, setting up Pacinio on a sharp attack, 10-12.

Ateneo struggled to contain the Rodriguez-led net defense, falling four points behind the Green Spikers, 12-16. Team Captain Jian Salarzon put an end to this mission by detonating a backrow bomb against the La Salle defense, 14-16. After a trade of kills from both squads, Ousseini overdrove a serve, 20-21. The hot-handed Pacinio checked the fingertips of the green blockade, but Chris Hernandez ended the frame with a net touch violation, 25-22.

Coming into the second frame, Ateneo briefly suffered from consecutive oversights at 0-2. To rectify this, Pacinio found an opening in La Salle’s floor, gaining the first point for his team, 1-2. However, the Blue Eagles still failed to withstand Hernandez’s service ace, dealing with a 2-5 shortage.

To bail the Katipunan-based squad out, Karl Corregidor made up for the difference with a block, 4-5. With DLSU’s Hernandez committing back-to-back errors, Rodge Alejos turned the tide in favor of Ateneo with a block at 8-7.

With revived rhythm, Pacinio asserted his force, converting an over-the-block hit to clinch a two-point edge, 10-8. Despite this, Ateneo stumbled upon Ousseini’s quick kill that turned over the steer to La Salle, 10-11. While DLSU’s Gloria made efforts to stretch the gap, Pacinio eagerly responded with a cross-court hit to force a deadlock at 13-13. Salarzon then contributed a cross-court kill of his own for a 15-15 stalemate.

Pushing the tempo, Miguel Yu ended a long rally with a cross-court attack at 16-17. The opposite hitter continued to shoulder the bleeding team, converting a down-the-line to reach 17-19. Still, the boys in blue remained outplayed by an Ousseini quick hit that extended their deficit, 18-21. Regardless of Salarzon and Pacinio’s cross-court attempts to wrestle back control at 21-23, Ateneo’s outside hitter committed a service error, closing the frame at 22-25.

The Blue Eagles endured a kill frenzy from the Taft-based squad to start the third canto, but Gloria concluded the 3-0 run, 1-3. Back-to-back miscommunication and attack violations from the Green and White urged Ateneo to generate points courtesy of outside hitter Miguel Yu, 7-9. However, the Blue and White’s attempt to turn things around was cut short by Brian Castro’s service error, 7-10.

Challenging the towering wall of Ousseini, Castro pounded the ball into the pavement with a quick attack, 11-15. Despite the strength in their composure returning, Pacinio committed a service fault that ceased their run, 12-16. With the momentum building on the La Salle side, Gloria carried on with an Ousseini-assisted combination play, 14-19.

Pacinio then unleashed a down-the-line kill from the opposite wing to fight the current, 15-20. DLSU’s Uriel Mendoza clocked in to answer with a strategic soft touch, 16-23. Sensing danger, Salarzon pumped up the Blue Eagles’ energy by getting a clean off-the-block kill, 18-23. As the Katipunan-based squad was finding synergy, DLSU setter Regidor pushed a one-two play towards the uncovered zone five in the Ateneo defense, closing the third set at 19-25.

Off the bat, the Loyola Heights-based squad grappled in the fourth set as the Green Spikers toughened up on defense. To set Ateneo’s offense in motion, Alejos earned his squad’s first point with a block at 1-2. With Mendoza and Ousseini manning Taft’s frontline, Pacinio shouldered the load and unchained a down-the-line hit at 3-6. Salarzon then offered relief with a cross-court attack to reduce the sting by two, 5-8. 

Remaining driven, Corregidor converted a soft touch, keeping it close at 6-9. Alejos then delivered a down-the-line hit to keep the ball rolling, 8-10. However, faulty plays plagued the Blue and White floor as Ken Batas’ service went long at 9-14.

While both teams capitalized on each other’s blunders, Salarzon took the chance and helped Ateneo inch closer with a cross-court action at 13-15. In spite of the grind, the Blue Eagles lost their foothold to Gloria’s consecutive markers, 14-18.

With DLSU’s outside hitter dominating the play, Ateneo fell victim to their own miscommunications on the court at 14-22. Even with Batas’s off-the-block hustle at 16-23, Gloria shut the door with a service ace at 25-16.

After executing an admirable stint, Ateneo bowed out of contention for the championship of their pre-season tournament. The Blue Eagles will seek to stage a stronger presence in their University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 88 campaign next semester.

Set scores:

Ateneo-DLSU: 25-22, 22-25, 19-25, 16-25