THE ATENEO Women’s Volleyball Team (AWVT) secured a commanding victory over the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (CSB) Lady Blazers in four sets, 25-18, 25-11, 24-26, 25-16. The classification match in the 2025 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Preseason Unity Cup was held earlier today, October 26, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in the City of Manila.
With this result, the AWVT advances to the tournament’s Battle for Fifth against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons.
Despite previously being eliminated from title contention, Donna De Leon and Ash Llesses remained eager to set the tone for their teams with quick attacks, 1-all. Ateneo was first to get ahead courtesy of Ana Hermosura’s wing attacks, 6-3, but CSB tightened their frontline defense to accumulate consecutive blocks on Zey Pacia, 7-7.
Coming off the first technical timeout, the Blue Eagles soared on a 4-0 run behind Jihian Chuatico and Pacia’s contributions, 11-8. Rhea Densing kept CSB within striking distance with a diagonal kill, 11-13, but Ateneo sustained the lead after Hermosura’s cross-court attack called for the second technical timeout, 16-13.
Ateneo then extended their lead with a 5-1 run, 21-14, but Zamantha Nolasco and Lleses quickly scored three-straight points for the Lady Blazers to cut the deficit, 17-21.
Refusing to relinquish momentum, De Leon relied on her quick attacks to once again establish separation, 24-17. In need of one more point to put the set away, Taks Fujimoto then executed a service ace, 25-18.
Ateneo got off to a fiery start in the second set, following back-to-back service aces from KC Cortez and a quick attack from Rob Silla, 3-0. Capitalizing on the Lady Blazers’ reception issues, Gena Hora took advantage with down-the-line kills, 5-1.
Similar to the first set, Ateneo’s miscues, coupled with Arianna Pua’s cross-court spike, enabled CSB to force a 6-all deadlock. Sensing urgency, Alana Tan Chi then regained momentum for the Blue and White with her service aces, 8-6.
As CSB’s errors continued to pile up, Geezel Tsunashima and Gena Hora remained relentless in penetrating the blockers, extending their lead to double-digits, 18-8.
With little to no response to their continuing surge, Tan Chi capped off the AWVT’s most dominant set in the preseason with a down-the-line attack, 25-11.
In contrast to the first two sets, Ateneo had a shaky start to the third set, as errors piled up on their side of the court, while Cam Bartolome’s solid blocking cameo gave CSB a 3-7 cushion. However, the Blue and White quickly regrouped behind Hermosura and Pacia’s efforts to string a 4-1 run and close the gap at 7-8 by the first technical timeout.
Following the break, the Lady Blazers quickly responded by tightening their defense and momentarily regaining the lead at 10-7, but Pacia’s service ace reignited the Blue Eagles’ rhythm, 11-11. Hermosura and Chuatico continued to fire from the wings, pushing Ateneo ahead to complete a 4-0 scoring tear, 14-13. Yet, CSB’s resilience shone through as errors from Ateneo and timely hits from Cristy Ondagan and Kai Lleses turned the tide once again to get back the lead, 20-21.
Despite Yssa Nisperos and De Leon’s efforts to stabilize the offense, the Blue Eagles failed to capitalize on match point, as late errors proved costly, 24-23. With a net touch by Hermosura and Nolasco’s off-the-block hit, the match extended to a fourth set, 26-24.
Eager to regain their momentum, Ateneo traded points with CSB early in the following frame as Hermosura found her rhythm with her sharp attacks. Pacia supplemented her teammate with steady scoring from the wings, giving the Blue Eagles a slim 8-7 edge at the first interval.
CSB, however, kept pace behind Fiona Inocentes and Nolasco, but Ateneo’s frontline soon took control. With Hermosura and Pacia firing from the pins, and De Leon present in the center, the Blue Eagles built on a massive 10-0 run, overwhelming the Lady Blazers’ defense, 23-13. Soon after, veteran Pacia fittingly ended the match with a solid kill, capping off Ateneo’s SSL campaign in winning fashion, 25-16.
Looking to end their preseason campaign on a high, the AWVT will face the UP Fighting Maroons, with the date and time of the contest to be announced.
Set scores:
Ateneo-CSB: 25-18, 25-11, 24-26, 25-16
