THE ATENEO Women’s Volleyball Team failed to escape their winless slate in the 2025 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Unity Cup round two after getting swept by the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 19-25, 15-25, 14-25. The preseason Battle of Katipunan concluded earlier today, October 17, at the San Andres Sports Complex in the City of Manila.
This 0-3 win-loss record situates the Blue Eagles at the bottom of Pool E standings, eliminating Ateneo from the Shakey’s Super League Preseason’s Unity Cup contention.
The Blue Eagles absorbed defense-breaking attacks from UP hitters Niña Ytang and Casiey Dongallo to commence the first set, 0-3. Switching from setter to outside hitter for this game, Liz Lomocso ended the Fighting Maroons’ three-point run with an off-the-block hit, 1-3. An attempt of varied attacks from Ateneo was read well by UP middle blocker Fina Ali, capitalizing on the Veloso-coached unit’s poor coverage. 2-7.
Eager to stop the Diliman-based squad’s hot hands, open attacker Zel Tsunashima braved through the gaps of the maroon wall, 4-10. Lomocso leveraged this opportunity to utilize the poor blocking of UP to deliver a checkball attack, 8-14. Tsunashima stood on this building momentum by executing two consecutive service aces to narrow her unit’s deficit down to three, 11-14.
Blue Eagle Yssa Nisperos stimulated her squad’s offense by powering a cross-court kill that penetrated the UP defense, 15-17. Following this, more attack errors from the Blue and White put UP ahead by five, 18-23. Although Zey Pacia displayed commendable grit in lifting her team up with a cross-court bomb, 19-24, Fighting Maroon Dongallo punctuated the frame through a down-the-line kill, 19-25.
Despite the slow start, the Blue Eagles welcomed the second set eager to establish momentum from Dona de Leon’s back-to-back offensive hustle in the opening frames, 3-0. However, UP’s undeterred standing in the succeeding sequences quickly challenged the Blue and White with a 4-0 run of their own, 3-4.
Remaining afloat, Pacia and Nisperos spearheaded attacks from the right wing to equalize with the Fighting Maroons, 5-5. Yet, it was UP’s Jelay Gajero’s assertive attacks from the right wing that continuously frontlined the offensive rhythm which tested Ateneo, 5-8.
The Blue Eagles struggled to reclaim their attack rhythm as faulty reception from the defense line failed to convert scoring opportunities for their wingers, 6-9. Nonetheless, Nisperos stepped up to break the scoring drought with her wilful attack from the right wing—cutting the deficit to five, 7-12.
The consistent showing of Nisperos and Pacia kept the score in a tight-knit state, 10-13. However, the consecutive errors from the Blue Eagles, coupled with Irah Jaboneta and Gajero’s impressive wingplay, caused an eight-point deficit for the Blue and White, 13-21.
As Ateneo was unable to recover from these growing pains, the Blue Eagles fell to Gajero’s personal nine-point barrage in the second, 15-25.
Fueled by their two-set disadvantage, the Blue Eagles tried to redefine their wing play with Nisperos’ crosscourt kills, 2-2. However, Ateneo’s floor defense lapses continued to haunt them and revert the lead to their Katipunan counterparts, 3-7.
Ateneo stumbled in containing the Fighting Maroons’ rejections at the Ali-led net defense, 3-12. Looking for an opportunity to turn the tide, Zey Pacia pumped up the falling Blue Eagles with a down-the-line kill, 8-17. However, the mini two-point run was concluded by a Nisperos error at the service deck, 10-19.
Though the composure of the squad from Loyola Heights was tested, Nisperos launched a clean down-the-line kill towards zone one to stop the bleeding, 12-21. UP’s Jaboneta witnessed the wave of overreceives from the Blue and White, which boosted her to executing a powertip regalo, 12-23. Tsunashima closed the third and last canto with an attack error, 14-25.
Seeking to avenge their current state, the Blue Eagles aim for a first win in the second round of the Shakey’s Super League Preseason Unity Cup, with their next schedule and opponent to be announced on a later date.
Set scores:
Ateneo-UP: 19-25, 15-25, 14-25
Pool Standings
- NU Lady Bulldogs (3-0)
- AdU Lady Falcons (2-1)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-2)
- Ateneo Blue Eagles (0-3)
