THE ATENEO Blue Eagles started their preseason campaign with a three-set sweep against the Arellano University (AU) Lady Chiefs in their Shakey’s Super League (SSL) 2022 Preseason Tournament opening game, 25-14, 30-28, 25-17, earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila. 

This win puts the Blue Eagles at 1-0 in the elimination round standings of the conference. 

The Blue Eagles created a hole in the Lady Chiefs’ defense early in Set 1, claiming a 13-4 advantage courtesy of the combined efforts of Joan Narit, Vanie Gandler, and Alexis Miner. Arellano accumulated errors from both service and attack lines, which inhibited them from bouncing back despite Ateneo’s own miscalculations. Capitalizing on their opponent’s shakey offense, the Blue Eagles asserted their first-set dominance with a convincing 25-14 win, following Lyann De Guzman’s drop ball from the wing.

The Lady Chiefs did not back down from the Blue Eagles in the second canto, pulling off a 3-0 run out of Ateneo’s errors and down-the-line attacks. However, the Blue and White recovered immediately with Geezel Tsunashima’s powerful attacks, Gena Hora’s impressive aces, and Yvana Sulit’s efficient blocking. As the two teams battled neck-and-neck, the Ateneo Blue Eagles snatched the set after an attack error by AU, 30-28.

Determined to maintain their grit, Ateneo fended off the Lady Chiefs’ early advantage. De Guzman and Faith Nisperos led the Blue Eagles past Arellano with powerful kills, capitalizing on their opponents’ mounting errors towards the second technical timeout, 16-9. Ateneo continuously pounded on the Arellano floor, securing a 7-0 run from the team’s strong kills. The Lady Chiefs attempted to delay their loss, releasing five-straight points to bring the game to a 17-24 advantage for Ateneo. Refusing to falter, Nisperos handed her team their first win with a tough spike going through the block, 25-17.

“Most of my [former] players turned pro, and good thing that those players who were left are stepping up and working hard to fill up those positions that were left.” Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team Head Coach Oliver Almadro shared about his young team’s first game in their pre-season campaign. 

When asked about his goal for the Blue Eagles in this pre-season tournament he said, “To test them to have confidence in the coming games and to learn what character we need pagdating ng UAAP or in the bigger matches that are coming.”

The Ateneo Blue Eagles will be facing the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Lady Bombers in their next game on October 16, 2022 at 3:00 PM, still at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Set Score:

Ateneo-AU: 25-14, 30-28, 25-17