THE ATENEO-MOTOLITE Lady Eagles defeated the Pocari-Air Force (POC) Lady Warriors in four sets, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 30-28, on Sunday, September 23 at the Imus Sports Complex in Bacoor, Cavite.

In a league mostly composed of professional teams, the Blue and White managed to begin their Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference campaign with a thrilling victory.

Kat Tolentino was an unstoppable force, racking up 19 points off 13 spikes, four blocks, and two service aces, while team captain Bea de Leon was an offensive powerhouse herself with nine spikes and three aces. Setter Deanna Wong notched 33 excellent sets despite sharing playing time with rookie setter Jaja Maraguinot.

Newly appointed Lady Eagles head coach Oliver Almadro had limited options with veterans Ponggay Gaston and Jules Samonte unavailable due to their participation in the UAAP Beach Volleyball Tournament the following day. His starters for the game were de Leon, Maddie Madayag, Wong, Vanie Gandler, Kim Gequillana, Tolentino, and Dani Ravena at libero. Maraguinot shared the setter role with Wong while Bela Peralta also played libero in the third and fourth set. Additionally, Erika Raagas and Sam Fanger also earned some minutes off the bench.

Pocari-Air Force established a small lead by the first technical timeout (TTO) 6-8. Despite many thrilling exchanges, the Lady Eagles still found themselves down, 16-19, as they entered the latter end of the set. Rookie setter Jaja Maraguinot came on to replace Wong and scored a service ace, and another ace by Gequillana eventually tied the score at 20. It was a back-and-forth affair heading into the latter parts of the set but three consecutive errors by the Lady Warriors ended the set, 25-23, in favor of the Blue and White.

The second set started off close with Pocari-Air Force only ahead by one at the first TTO, 7-8. The Lady Warriors eventually pulled away courtesy of a 4-1 run at the second TTO, 12-16. A quick by Del Palomata finished the set, 17-25.

With Wong back as the main setter for the third set, the Blue and White found themselves ahead at the first TTO, 8-6. At the second TTO, Ravena was replaced by Peralta with the score at 16-13. A spike off the combination play by Tolentino sent the ball flying into the ceiling, 25-20.

A 6-1 scoring run by Ateneo heading into the first TTO put the score at 8-6. The Lady Eagles maintained the lead and were ahead by the second TTO, 16-12. The Lady Warriors were able to slowly chip away at the lead and cut the deficit to one, 21-20, after a spike by Pablo off Gequillana’s block. Pocari’s Jeanette Panaga took the lead with a quick but de Leon kept it level with her own quick, 23-23. It was a tight contest with both teams trading advantage, but de Leon finished the match with a quick spike after her initial block, 30-28.

Almadro commented on his team’s progress after the game, saying, “Slowly but surely, they just have to trust the process, trust the system.” He also expressed his happiness over how the seniors have embraced their roles within the team.

The next game for the Ateneo-Motolite Lady Eagles will be against the Petrogazz Angels at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Set Score

Ateneo-POC: 25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 30-28

Box Scores

Ateneo: Tolentino – 19, de Leon – 12, Gandler – 9, Gequillana – 9, Madayag – 8, Wong – 2, Maraguinot – 1, Raagas – 1

POC: Pablo – 30, Panaga – 16, Pantino – 9, Palomata – 7, Yongco – 6, Kasilag – 5, Semana – 2, Cases – 1