THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated the National University Bulldogs in four sets, 26-28, 25-23, 25-21, 25 17 on Sunday, March 13 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Marck Espejo led the Blue and White with 25 points, with 19 of those points coming off spikes. Team Captain Ysay Marasigan followed Espejo’s offensive output with nine points, while veterans Josh Villanueva and Rex Intal both chipped in with eight points each.

Complacency fueled the slow start from the Blue Eagles–who won their first round matchup against the Bulldogs–early on, which led to their first-set loss. This was enough of a wake-up call for the team to finish off their opponents decisively, according to Espejo. “Noong first set, medyo nagrelax kami siguro kasi tinalunan naming sila sa last game, pero nag-adjust naman kami (In the first set, we relaxed because we won against them in our last game, but we managed to adjust).”

This win puts the Blue Eagles at 9-1 in the elimination round standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 Men’s volleyball tournament.

Their next game will be against the University of Santo Tomas, 10:00 AM, Saturday, March 19 at the PhilSports Multi-Purpose Arena in Pasig.

https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/blue-eagles-survive-4-set-match-against-bulldogs