THE ATENEO Lady Eagles edged out the San Sebastian College (SSC) Lady Stags in three straight sets, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17, on Saturday, September 3 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The first point of the match went to SSC but the Lady Eagles dominated in the following points with Blue and White Captain Mich Morente hitting winners one after the other. Kim Gequillana and player of the match Ana Gopico also contributed some fine points to pull Ateneo ahead comfortably mid-set (15-9). Though Lady Stag Katherine Villegas produced some winners in an attempt to spark a comeback, the Lady Eagles were able to push forward for a first set win, courtesy of an amazing block by Ponggay Gaston. The set ended 25-22.
The Lady Eagles were beaming confidence in the second set as they got to a good start with Gopico winning three consecutive points for the Blue and White (3-0). While the Ateneo offense dominated well through the set, the Lady Stags did well to put up a fight. Exchanging serves in a tense set, the Lady Eagles found themselves tied at 19-19 but were quick to pull ahead via Gopico serves (21-19). SSC Captain Gretchel Soltones made consecutive mistakes to concede yet another set point to the Ateneo. Gequillana took the set for the Blue and White with a perfectly powered lob over two sets of raised arms.
The third set began with the Lady Eagles dominating once more. Morente led by example with spike after spike, even managing to knock the opposing Villegas to the ground with one powerful hit. Ateneo kept a steady three-point cushion between them and SSC in the early stages of the set. Morado added to the deficit with a beautiful backwards touch that caught the Lady Stags by surprise. From then on, SSC failed to put any sort of pressure on Ateneo, losing the four last points of the set consecutively to hand victory and a semi-finals spot to Ateneo.
The Lady Eagles looked like a completely different team from the one that conceded defeat in straight sets to FEU, managing quick, aggressive plays against SSC. Gopico took the spotlight today with an impressive tally of 15 points. Of the 15, she won 11 from pinpoint spikes. Gequillana also impressed with 12 points, matching Gopico on winners from spikes.
Julia Morado also performed notably during the game with a stunning 50 excellent sets, while Captain Mich Morente, who managed to score nine points, had eight excellent receptions.
After trumping the Lady Stags, the Lady Eagles will take on the Lady Tamaraws once more in game one of a three-game Semi-Finals showdown on Monday, September 5 at the Philsports Arena, Pasig City.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Gopico-15, Gequillana-12, Morente-9, De Leon-7, Gaston-3, Morado-3, Samonte-3, Lavitoria-1
SSC: Soltones-17, Villegas-12, Encarnacion-7, Santos-1, Tiangco-1, Dalisay-1, Guillema-1, Sta. Rita-1
