COMING OFF a dominant win against the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, the Ateneo Blue Eagles crushed the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, 25-16, 25-22, 25-11, on June 2 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.

Following the victory, the Blue Eagles improved to a 6-5 record in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 Women’s Volleyball Tournament standings, increasing their chances for a slot in the Final Four.

With steady first balls, Jaja Maraguinot activated Faith Nisperos and Vanie Gandler to fire up Ateneo’s offense, as the spiking-duo established a comfortable lead early in the first set. Middle blocker Alexis Miner was also crucial to Ateneo’s cause, maximizing her taller stature to tower over UE’s attackers and solidify Ateneo’s lead at 19-11. Following consecutive errors from the side of their opponents, Nisperos and Gandler made quick work of UE to secure the set, 25-16.

Attempting to immediately bounce back after surrendering the first set to their opponent, UE kept Ateneo close ahead with the combined efforts of Ercae Nieva and Janeca Lana from the attack lines. With three deadlocks in the middle of the second set, the Blue Eagles began pulling away courtesy of varied kills from Nisperos and Joan Narit. UE fell short, 22-25, as they were unable to convert from their attacks and were only scoring off Ateneo’s own errors at the latter end.

Bringing their second set momentum to the third, Ateneo pounded on the Lady Warriors’ floor through contributions from many of their players. Nisperos and Narit were once again part of the Blue Eagles’ scoring spree; Miner, Gandler, and off-the-bench Lyann De Guzman also erupted for the team’s offense, rendering UE unable to respond, 12-3.

Despite Lana’s late attacks, the Lady Warriors’ compounding errors cost them the game. Ateneo won the match via a third set score of  25-11.

Miner had an outstanding performance, scoring eight points on the board from her well-executed running plays and her strong defensive presence at the net. Narit, Miner’s co-blocker, also pitched in with eight points in the middle. Moving on to seal the victory, Gandler again showed off her spiking prowess for the Blue Eagles as she led her team and unloaded 15 markers. Nisperos followed Gandler with 13 points for Ateneo, while Lana from the UE side was the lone player to finish in double digits.

The Blue Eagles are set for a face-off against the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons at 6:30 PM on Saturday, June 4, at the MOA Arena.

Set Score:

Ateneo-UE: 25-16 25-22, 25-11

Box Scores:

Ateneo: Gandler – 15, Nisperos – 13, Miner – 8, Narit – 8, Raagas – 4, De Guzman – 3,  Fujimoto – 1, Maraguinot – 1

UE: Lana – 11, Manalo – 7, Nieva – 5, Pelaga – 3