THE ATENEO-FUDGEE Barr Blue Eagles fell in straight sets to the Sta. Elena–National University Bulldogs, 22-25, 19-25, 21-25, in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on Friday, November 29, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.

Blue Eagles Head Coach Timothy Sto. Tomas fielded his usual starting lineup of Gian Glorioso, Chu Njigha, Egie Magadia, Tony Koyfman, Ron Medalla, Jan Rivera, and Manuel Sumanguid at libero. Service specialist Pau Trinidad was used throughout the match while Rookie Zach Santamaria replaced Magadia for most of the game. Kurt Aguilar was given playing time off the bench in the latter parts of the third set.

Medalla led the team in scoring with 10 points while Njigha contributed four blocks. Koyfman performed well below his standards, spiking at a 23.3% efficiency rate.

NU’s Bryan Bagunas was an unstoppable force as he scored 17 points and made 16 of 29 spikes. His teammates were spiking at a rate of 48.3% while the Blue Eagles struggled to convert against NU’s defense, spiking at a measly 29.8%.

Nothing was working for the Blue Eagles at the start of the match as an 8-3 scoring-run by the Bulldogs put NU ahead by seven, 10-17. The two teams continued to trade points until a 3-0 run by NU gave them the set point, 18-24. The Blue and White refused to back down, scoring five consecutive points with Medalla making two consecutive aces and Rivera notching two kills. Their scoring burst was too little too late, however, as Bryan Bagunas took the last point with a kill down the line, 22-25.

The battle for the second set was close until a 3-0 run by NU capped off by an off-the-block kill by Bagunas forced the Blue Eagles to call their first timeout, 13-15. The Katipunan-based squad was unable to gain any momentum for the rest of the set as NU asserted their dominance run after run. Bagunas took the set point with a spike despite being covered by a triple block, 19-25.

The start of the third set was another disappointing one for the Blue Eagles as they gave up six consecutive points that put their deficit at six, 3-9. Ateneo slowly but surely made their way back with a block by Medalla cutting the lead to just two, 13-15. Unfortunately for the Blue Eagles, errors prevented them from closing out multiple rallies which allowed NU to build another insurmountable lead. A quick kill by the Bulldogs put them at match point with the score at 18-24. The Blue Eagles extended the match with another late run but the match ended with NU taking the glory, 21-25.

This loss eliminates the Blue Eagles from final-four contention as they finish the season tied with Prima-FEU at fifth place with a win-loss record of 5-4.

Set Score

Ateneo-STE: 22-25, 19-25, 21-25