THE ATENEO Blue Eagles absorbed their second loss in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Women’s Volleyball Tournament in a five-set thriller against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 23-25, 14-16. The match was held earlier today, February 22, at the Mall of Asia Arena in the City of Pasay.
Despite the loss, Jlo Delos Santos put up a strong performance, leading the way with 21 points. The rookie duo of Ana Hermosura and Dona De Leon also came up big with 19 and 15 points, respectively, alongside Zey Pacia with 14 markers.
Eager to start the game strong, the Blue Eagles created an early lead with Pacia securing a block point and Delos Santos opening the offense with an attack, 2-0. Building on their momentum, rookie De Leon hammered against UP’s net defense for back-to-back attacks, extending the lead and forcing an early timeout from the Fighting Maroons, 4-0.
Despite UP’s Irah Jaboneta converting a drop ball right after the break, Ateneo responded in kind with three straight points, capitalized by an attack from Hermosura to force yet another UP timeout, 7-2. Although the Fighting Maroons narrowed the deficit in the succeeding minutes, Hermosura continued to find avenues to attack, maintaining a slim lead, 10-7.
The Blue Eagles were unable to contain the Fighting Maroon’s attacks midway through the set, as UP’s Bienne Bansil procured three straight points to cut the lead, 12-11. Refusing to back down, the Blue and White retaliated with four straight points, including a drop and an ace from Delos Santos to reestablish control, 16-11.
As the match progressed, both teams traded points in a nitty-gritty back-and-forth, as Delos Santos continued to wreak havoc on UP’s defense, 20-14. However, in the final stages of the opening set, the Blue Eagles took full control, ending the opening frame with one final 4-0 run, capped off by an attack from Pacia to take the lead, 25-17.
Hoping to sustain the momentum, Ateneo welcomed the second set with a classic De Leon quick attack from the middle, 1-1. The opening frames of the set witnessed both teams exhibit excellent reception and wing play. Consequently, the Katipunan-based teams battled for leads at the 4-4 mark.
While Ateneo flaunted their aggressive attack front, UP’s Nina Ytang charged relentlessly to hand UP their first lead of the set at 6-8. However, eager to find their footing, Blue Eagle Delos Santos fired a left-wing attack to break Ytang’s momentum at 7-9.
The following sequences saw an offensive showdown between the Katipunan-based units. In an effort to reclaim the upper hand, UP’s Jaboneta slams a quick attack to enter two-digit territory, 10-8. Yet, it was De Leon’s athletic prowess that established the impressive wing play of the Blue Eagles in the succeeding frames of the set, 9-11.
Complimenting De Leon’s offensive hustle were Hermosura and Pacia’s consecutive off-the-block hits, which minimized the deficit at 12-13. Further amplifying these efforts, Ateneo capitalized on UP’s consecutive errors to get ahead, 15-14.
The backend of the set saw the Blue Eagles power through Ytang’s willful attacks and net domination. With Delos Santos’ heavy down-the-line hits, the Blue Eagles entered line-of-two territory, 20-17.
Although Ateneo faced a scare with Casiey Dongallo’s set-point save at 24-19, De Leon’s 11th point in the match secured another set advantage for the Blue and White, 25-19.
To begin the crucial third set, the Blue Eagles maximized their offensive upperhand through Pacia from the right pin, 2-1. However, UP quickly established their rhythm—enough to shed an early scare for the Ateneo.
Following Head Coach Sergio Veloso’s early timeout at 3-5, Pacia downed another powerful kill to equalize with the Fighting Maroons, 5-5. With excellent coverage throughout long rallies, the commendable team chemistry of the Blue Eagles paved the way for Delos Santos’ well-calculated attacks to keep the squad alive, 12-11.
Mounting on their strong footing, the Blue Eagles capitalized on Hermosura’s off-the-block attacks at 18-17 to further increase their score leads. However, Jaboneta’s push to take charge of UP handed the Fighting Maroons the critical 20-point territory advantage, 20-19.
Despite the impressive offensive hustle of Delos Santos and Jihann Chuatico, the Blue Eagles fell to the crucial entry of UP’s Jelai Gajero, who scored set point for the Fighting Maroons, 25-22.
Entering the fourth set, the Blue Eagles were unable to contain UP’s Sarah Ali, giving up an early lead, 3-6. These struggles only continued as the Blue and White fell victim to a pair of attack errors, 5-11.
The Blue Eagles attempted to regroup to cut the deficit, but were unable to minimize Gajero, as the Fighting Maroon established a nine-point lead, 9-18. However, the Blue and White refused to remain silent, going on a 5-0 unanswered run, led by three attacks from rookie Hermosura, 14-18.
With the momentum shifting tides and stakes higher than ever, the Blue Eagles were able to cut the lead to one following three straight attack errors from the Fighting Maroons, keeping Ateneo’s hopes for a four-set victory alive, 19-20.
Although UP was able to answer back to regain the lead, 21-23, Pacia and De Leon came up huge on both ends of the court, tying the game at 23-23. Despite Ateneo’s best efforts to close out the bout, two costly errors down the stretch sealed UP’s victory, forcing a final set, 23-25.
Bouncing back into form, Ateneo opened the fifth set with a quick attack from De Leon, 1-2. However, both Katipunan-based teams were plagued by faulty reception, which equalized the score tally at 4-4.
Recalibrating strategies, UP’s attack-centered approach further challenged Ateneo’s defensive lapses, 7-4. With the Blue and White struggling to find footing, Ytang capitalized on these growing pains to increase the advantage for the Fighting Maroons.
In an effort to decrease the point deficit, Chuatico and Hermosura executed well-calculated hits by the 6-8 mark. This continuous strenuous feat eventually brought the Blue Eagles an equalizer at 9-9.
The backend of the match witnessed unwavering energy from Delos Santos, Pacia, and Hermosura, who extensively contributed to the offensive hustle of the Blue Eagles, 14-14. However, UP’s determination to break the 11-game winning streak of their Katipunan counterparts solidified in the final point, 16-14.
In a continuous search for their first Season 88 win, the Blue Eagles look to counter the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses on Wednesday, February 25, at 1:00 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Box scores:
Ateneo (2): Delos Santos – 21, Hermosura – 19, De Leon – 15, Pacia – 14, Chuatico – 8, Cortez – 1, De Chaves – 1
UP (3): Ytang – 15, Jaboneta – 14, Ali – 13, Dongallo – 13, Bansil – 8, Galero – 8, De Leon – 5, Olango – 5, Manguilimotan – 1, Baclay – 1
Set scores:
Ateneo-UP: 25-17, 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 14-16
Women’s Volleyball Standings
- NU Lady Bulldogs (3-0)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-0)
- Adamson Lady Falcons (2-1)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (1-2)
- De La Salle Lady Spikers (1-0)
- UST Golden Tigresses (0-1)
- Ateneo Blue Eagles (0-2)
- UE Lady Red Warriors (0-3)
