THE ATENEO Lady Eagles bounced back from their previous loss to Far Eastern University (FEU) with an emphatic win over Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) in straight sets at 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 on Saturday, September 16 at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
Today’s victory sees the Blue and White improve to a 2-1 win-loss standing in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Women’s Collegiate Conference
Maddie Madayag led the scoring for the Lady Eagles with nine points, while Bea de Leon, Jules Samonte, and Ponggay Gaston followed in similar style with eight points apiece. Madayag and Gaston, meanwhile, held down the fort on the defensive end, completing several crucial blocks throughout the match.
In the first set, the Lady Eagles saw themselves at the receiving end of a quick LPU scoring run, as they quickly found themselves trailing 0-3 within minutes. However, the Lady Eagles eventually hit their stride off consecutive points from Kat Tolentino who tied the set at 4-4. The Lady Eagles took their first lead of the game at 12-11 courtesy of a Deanna Wong service ace before entering the second technical timeout trailing once more, 14-16.
Following the second technical timeout, unforced errors seemed to plague both sides, forcing neck-and-neck action due to numerous service and reception errors. After several close calls, a block from Ponggay Gaston would then claim a decisive first set for the Lady Eagles at 25-23.
The second set once again saw both teams locked in a tight affair, as Ateneo found themselves entering the first technical timeout leading by a point, 6-5. Exiting the timeout, unforced errors came back to haunt LPU, who racked up consecutive double contact violations and service errors to enter the second technical trailing by four, 12-16. Eventually, a service ace from Jules Samonte saw LPU concede the second set at 20-25.
With their backs against the wall, LPU upped their composure and play in the third set, entering the first technical timeout with a one-point lead, 8-7. However, LPU would soon find themselves as the victims of yet another barrage of miscommunication errors, falling prey to consecutive service aces from the Lady Eagles, who entered the second technical with a two-point lead, 16-14. A service ace from Madayag then concluded the match to give the Lady Eagles the victory.
At the end of the match, Team Captain Bea de Leon emphasized the importance of the players stepping up in replacement of injured players such as Kim Gequillana. “It’s tough [to lose players to injury] talaga, but at the end of the day, we have to stick together, go through with playing. and hopefully, the results will come naman.”
The Ateneo Lady Eagles will take on the San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) on Saturday, September 23, at 6:30 PM at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
