THE ATENEO Lady Eagles exacted revenge on the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses in four sets, 26-24, 14-25, 25-20, 25-15 in Game 2 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Women’s Volleyball Finals held on May 15, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City.

In his bid to extend the finals series, Head Coach Oliver Almadro started Jules Samonte, Ponggay Gaston, Kat Tolentino, Deanna Wong, Maddie Madayag, Bea De Leon, and Kim Gequiliana as libero. Rookie Janel Maraguinot and reserve libero Dani Ravena also saw action in the crucial win.

Substitute libero Ravena was named player of the game with 22 excellent digs which complemented Wong’s 22 excellent sets. Madayag led the Lady Eagles in points with 17 markers, 10 of which came from spikes. De Leon matched Madayag in spiking with 10 points of her own. Samonte came out big on the service line with three service aces while Gaston contributed two block kills.

Tolentino opened the scoring in the first set with a cross court kill, 1-0. Despite holding an 8-5 lead at the first technical timeout (TTO), Ateneo surrendered their advantage midway through the set at 12-16, courtesy of Rookie of the Year Eya Laure’s down-the-line spike. UST held the lead for most of the set, but two straight points from Tolentino tied the score, 23-23. De Leon’s block saved the first set point, before a kill from Tolentino and Laure’s error allowed the Katipunan-based side to escape with the first set, 26-24.

Several errors set Ateneo back early on in the second set, 2-6, prompting Almadro to call an early timeout. The Golden Tigresses maintained the momentum going into the first TTO as Rondina denied Samonte’s entry at the net, 2-8. The Blue and White continued to struggle but managed to pull together a 3-0 run that was ended by a cross court kill from Laure, 9-12. The squad from España charged into the second TTO with their largest lead of the set, 9-16. An overpowering 5-0 run from the Golden Tigresses proved to be too much for the Lady Eagles as Viray ended the second set by putting up a wall on De Leon’s attempt to score, 14-25.

With the match tied at one set each, tragedy struck at the start of the third set with a net violation called on Laure as she fell down and twisted her ankle after an unintentional collision with Tolentino. An open kill from Rondina kept the scores close, 7-7, before De Leon’s quick kill and Golden Tigress Alina Bicar’s double contact error allowed Ateneo to enter the second TTO on top, 16-13.

The wing spikers of Ateneo proved to be the key ingredient to the Lady Eagles’ 4-0 run late in the third set, 21-18. Attack points from Samonte and Gaston carried the Blue and White all the way to the end of the third set of the match, but it was Team Captain De Leon who ultimately ended the set with a quick kill, 25-21.

After going down at the beginning of the third set, Laure came back for the final set of the match. Ateneo pulled away from a tight 3-4 start to the fourth set through a 5-0 run behind three-straight points from Madayag that allowed the Lady Eagles to enter the first TTO ahead, 8-4. The tide remained with Ateneo as a crucial 4-0 run forced the Golden Tigresses to call their final timeout early on in the fourth set, 12-5.

Throughout the fourth set, Ateneo maintained their dominant lead, punctuated by Gaston’s ace, 18-8. UST was unable to respond to the Lady Eagles’ well-rounded efforts to keep the ball alive as Ravena propelled Ateneo to match point with a clever return ball, 24-13. A service error from UST ended the set and the game in favor of Ateneo, 25-15, and extend the series to a decisive Game 3 finale.

During the post game press conference, Ravena was asked about what may have been the best game of her life. “In my head, my mindset was how can you say no to the request of the seniors… yung hardwork nila all throughout those trainings and playing so that’s my main motivation talaga,” she said. “I really want them to have a good bye na wala kaming lahat regrets.”

With the seniors playing their last game on Saturday, departing Team Captain De Leon said “it’s really our last this time so our mindset talaga no matter what happens is we keep praying na we enjoy every moment kasi whatever happens… we made it this far and that’s already big for us.”

The Lady Eagles will fly for the UAAP Season 81 Women’s Volleyball Championship on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at 4 PM in the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Set Scores:  26-24, 14-25, 25-20, 25-15