THE ATENEO Lady Eagles fall to the San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Manila Lady Stags in three straight sets, 23-25, 22-25, 23-25 on Saturday, August 6, 2016 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Lady Eagles registered their second defeat in the Shakey’s V-League Tournament standing at a 0-2 win-loss record.
Facing another non-UAAP opponent, the Lady Eagles suffered through the first half of the opening set as the Lady Stags came out strong with attacks that caused the Katipunan-based squad to incur numerous errors. Trailing behind a 12-4 lead by the Lady Stags, Bea de Leon and Pauline Gaston narrowed the score gap with great offensive and defensive play until Gaston’s service ace tied the score at 14-all. However, the next sequences featured a streak by the Lady Stags, where they gained the advantage once again. Although Jules Samonte’s service ace brought the score closer (22-23), errors from the Blue and White surrendered the first set to the Lady Stags.
After losing the first set, the Lady Eagles drew first blood in the second set with two service aces from Gaston that contributed to the 4-0 lead. The excellent blocking by de Leon and Samonte was short lived as more attack errors plagued the rest of the set, allowing the Lady Stags to take over (13-14). The battle for better defensive skills continued, but the Lady Stags emerged victorious with Denice Lim’s attack that took the second set.
The third set initially looked optimistic for the Lady Eagles as Samonte led the team in blocking the opponent’s incoming attacks, while attackers Gequillana and Gaston extend the lead to 23-10. However, the Lady Stags made an unbelievable 15-point streak, disabling retaliation from the Lady Eagles, resulting to the San Sebastian College Lady Stags’ victory.
Top scorer was rookie Samonte, who led the team with 15 points in offensive output and was also the team’s go-to defense player as she executed two excellent blocks. Morente and Gaston followed, contributing nine points each in attacks.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Samonte- 10, Morente-9, Gaston-9, de Leon-8, Gequillana-6, Morado-5, Gopico-3
SSC-R: Soltones-16, Lim-12, Sta. Rita-9, Dalisay-6, Villegas-5, Oliveros-1
