On the last day of the tournament, the Lady Eagles ended their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Beach Volleyball campaign with a loss to the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers on Thursday, October 12 at SM Sands by the Bay in Pasay City.
Jules Samonte and Bea De Leon suited up for Ateneo, while Ana Gopico played the role of reserve player for the duo.
The first set began with multiple errors by the Lady Eagles that allowed La Salle to take the early 0-5 lead. This lead proved to be Ateneo’s downfall as they failed to go on any significant run to close the gap. An off-the-block kill from De Leon late into the set unexpectedly became Ateneo’s last sign of life, as a 6-0 scoring run from DLSU ultimately gave them the set, 10-21.
The second set started off poorly for the Blue and White, after a service ace by DLSU’s May Luna gave the Lady Archers a five-point lead, 4-9. A spike by Samonte that split the defenders eventually stopped the bleeding to make it a 6-13 game. Superb offense by the Lady Archers allowed them to go on a 3-8 scoring run to end the set and take the match to advance to the final four, 9-21.
With a 2-5 record to end the season, beach volleyball head coach Sherwin Meneses saw it as a good opportunity to give the girls experience on the beach, which is incredibly vital for success on the sand.
He also commented how important training time and full commitment to the sport is for success in beach volleyball. As for what to expect next season, coach Meneses said, “Willing naman ‘yung players na bumalik sa beach volley kasi nag-enjoy naman sila (The players are willing to return to beach volleyball since they enjoyed their time).”
Set Scores
Ateneo vs DLSU: 10-21, 9-21
