THE ATENEO Lady Eagles lost in three sets to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 20-22, 21-17, 12-15 in their first match of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Beach Volleyball Tournament on Sunday, September 22, at the Sands at SM by the Bay in Pasay City. Returning Team Captain Ponggay Gaston and newly minted rookie partner Roma Mae Doromal ended the first day of action on the sand with a 0-1 win-loss record. 

Gaston started the offense of the Lady Eagles with a 1-2 play to confuse FEU’s Shiela Kiseo and Sheena Gallentes, 1-0. The Lady Eagles maintained control over the game for much of the first set, forcing the Lady Tamaraws to call their only timeout at 10-7, after a sharp ace from Gaston. However, a technical court switch was all FEU needed to cut the deficit as they charged through the Blue and White’s defense with a 4-1 run to force a deuce at 20-all. An ace from Kiseo handed the set point over to the Lady Tamaraws before an attack error from Doromal allowed FEU to catch up, 20-22. 

Doromal took center stage in the second set after she excellently dug two powerful spikes from Gallentes and Kiseo. Her outstanding defense sparked a 3-0 run for the Blue and White, 7-4. The Lady Eagles forced the Lady Tamaraws to call an early time out after another sharp ace from Gaston, 11-6. Determined to close out the set early, Gaston smartly set the ball down the middle of the Lady Tamarraw’s court into no man’s land, 20-16. The second set ended in favor of the Lady Eagles, 21-17. 

In the deciding set of the match, the Lady Eagles struggled with erratic defense and were unable to read the Lady Tamaraws’ cut shots and kills down the line. Errors continued to plague the Blue and White’s defense as Gaston’s misreceive cushioned FEU’s lead to four points, a large deficit in a shorter third set, 7-11. The Lady Tamaraws gained set and match point off of an ace from Kiseo, 9-14. The Lady Eagles ground out a late 3-0 run, 12-14, but their valiant efforts fell short as Kiseo ended the match with a cut shot, 12-15. 

Gaston shared that by the third set, the Lady Eagles had already grown tired, but did not want to allow FEU to pull away. “It’s a lesson, not a loss. It’s something we’re going to learn from and it just shows that we have to develop our character more on the court,” she said.

The Lady Eagles look to redeem themselves in their next games against the University of Santo Tomas at 10:00 AM and the University of the East at 2:40 PM on Wednesday, September 25, at the Sands at SM by the Bay in Pasay City. 

Set Scores:

Ateneo-FEU: 20-22, 21-17, 12-15