THE ATENEO Blue Eagles were defeated by the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 11-21, 21-12, 11-15, followed by another loss to the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 17-21, 20-22 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Beach Volleyball Tournament on Sunday, September 22, at the SM Sands by the Bay in Pasay City. These losses put the Blue Eagles at zero wins and two losses after the first day of elimination round games.
In the match against UE, the returning beach volleyball tandem of Abai Llenos and Kurt Aguilar struggled to keep pace with opposing attacks. Despite Llenos’ comeback efforts in the middle of the set, UE’s firepower proved to be too much. Lloyd Josafat ended the first set with a down-the-line kill to cap a 1-8 run.
The Blue Eagles started hot to begin the second set. Consecutive attack errors from Jake Abria sparked a run and the Blue Eagles kept the momentum by capitalizing on cleverly placed cut shots. Ateneo continued to make the most of UE’s unforced errors to take the second-set win from a Josafat attack error, 21-12.
In the deciding set of the match, the Blue Eagles took an early 3-1 lead, but a service error from Aguilar cut Ateneo’s advantage to just one point, 9-8. UE leaped ahead with a crucial run which only ended because of an attack error from Josafat, 10-13. The Red Warriors ended the set and secured the win off of a 1-2 play, 11-15.
Ateneo’s second matchup of the day was against the NU Bulldogs, last season’s bronze medalists. The Blue and White grabbed the first point of the match after a net touch violation was called on the Bulldogs. However, NU took off and led a 5-0 run, with four of the five points coming from newcomer James Buytrago. The Bulldogs’ commanding presence at the net dominated throughout most of the first set. A costly attack error by Llenos gifted NU the point and set, 17-21.
The second set began as a back and forth affair with each team’s offense firing on all fronts. A 1-2 play from Llenos sparked a 6-0 run from Ateneo, 11-6. Despite momentum being on the side of the Blue Eagles, the Bulldogs eventually forced the match into a deuce with James Natividad ending the set and game through a 1-2 play of his own.
After the match, Head Coach JP Pareja admitted that the loss against UE was a hurdle for the team’s Final Four aspirations. ”We will have to adjust and win against the stronger teams like UST and FEU. If we get one win from them…we’ll make it to the Final Four,” Pareja said.
The Blue Eagles will look to bounce back in their next match against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, on Wednesday, September 25, 12:40 PM, at the SM Sands by the Bay in Pasay City.
Set Score:
Ateneo vs. UE: 11-21, 21-12, 11-15
Ateneo vs. NU: 17-21, 20-22
