THE ATENEO Women’s Volleyball Team suffered their tenth loss of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Volleyball Tournament, conceding to the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in straight sets, 20-25, 14-25, 23-25. The matchup between Katipunan neighbors took place earlier today, April 8, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in the City of Pasay.
With this loss, Ateneo moved to 1-10 in their UAAP Season 88 campaign, still occupying seventh place in team standings.
A silver lining in the Blue Eagles’ loss were the performances of rookie Dona De Leon and rising star Zey Pacia, both of whom tallied seven points each. Ateneo also benefited from the offensive outputs of Ana Hermosura and Alex Montoro, who both scored five points.
The Blue Eagles stumbled offensively in the opening frame of the match and were quickly put on their heels as they failed to contain the firepower of Niña Ytang and Irah Jaboneta, 2-4. Ateneo briefly found breathing room following a UP error, 3-4, but the Fighting Maroons immediately responded with a 4-0 run to force a timeout, 3-8.
Coming out of the break, Hermosura took matters into her own hands, bringing Ateneo within striking distance with three consecutive block breakers, 6-8. Despite her efforts to swing momentum on their side, the Blue Eagles absorbed a 4-2 counter from UP, slipping to a four-point deficit, 8-12.
Ateneo’s lack of offensive variety and defensive cohesion proved costly, as the gap widened to eight, 12-20, with UP capitalizing on the Blue Eagles’ disorganized system. A Hermosura attack and a service ace from De Leon halted the bleeding, 14-20, but the Blue Eagles’ shaky defense allowed the Fighting Maroons to unleash a 4-0 blitz and reach set point, 14-24.
Refusing to fold, veterans Jihan Chuatico and Taks Fujimoto nabbed two blocks, while Pacia manned the offense with two attacks, stringing together a 6-0 run to close in, 20-24. However, Ateneo ultimately ran out of steam, failing to read UP’s final play as Bienne Bansil sealed the opening set with a deadly kill, 20-25.
A quick attack through the middle by Chuatico kept Ateneo close at the onset of the second set, 2-3. However, the Blue Eagles struggled to contain UP star Ytang, as the middle blocker continued to provide a daunting wall for Ateneo’s wings, 2-6.
Unable to control their first passes, the Blue and White gave up multiple regalo hits to extend their deficit, 5-10. Despite Montoro’s off-the-block attack cutting the Fighting Maroon momentum, 6-10, the Loyola Heights-based squad could not penetrate UP’s defense, with their disadvantage increasing to seven, 6-13.
Still fighting in the set, the Blue Eagles capitalized on their opponent’s errors, cutting the lead to 9-15. After both teams exchanged multiple points, a thunderous swing from De Leon kept Ateneo within striking distance, 13-19. However, the Blue and White’s receiving errors proved to be too much to overcome, as a final swing from UP’s Jelai Gajero served Ateneo the set loss, 14-25.
Keen on establishing control, KC Cortez set the tone early for the struggling Blue Eagles in the third set with back-to-back aces, giving Ateneo its first lead of the match, 2-0. UP answered quickly to force an early deadlock at 2-all, but the spirited Blue Eagles responded with a 5-3 run to regain a slim two-point cushion, 7-5.
From there, the set turned into a back-and-forth affair, with both squads trading points en route to their 10th deadlock at 13-all. Despite Ateneo’s steady offense, the Fighting Maroons pulled ahead with a 4-1 blitz, sending the Blue Eagles trailing, 14-17.
Eager to shift momentum, veteran Zel Tsunashima caught fire, tallying two attacks and a block to push Ateneo back in front, 19-18. The Blue Eagles capitalized on UP’s errors to extend their lead to 22-20, highlighted by Cortez’s crafty one-handed set that set up a Rob Silla kill.
Ateneo inched closer to forcing another set after Montoro’s crosscourt attack made it 23-21. However, the Blue Eagles faltered down the stretch as they were unable to contain Ytang, who delivered four of UP’s final five points to seal the sweep, 23-25.
Hoping to capture their second win of the season, the Blue Eagles look to hand the top-seeded De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers their first loss on Saturday, April 11, at 11:00 AM in the Playtime Filoil Centre in the City of San Juan.
Box scores:
Ateneo (0): De Leon – 7, Pacia – 7, Hermosura – 5, Montoro – 5, Chuatico – 4, Tsunashima – 4, Cortez – 3, Silla – 2
UP 3): Ytang – 18, Gajero – 13, Jaboneta – 12, Olango – 8, Bansil – 7, Manguilimotan – 1
Set scores:
Ateneo-UP: 20-25, 14-25, 23-25
Current Standings (W-L):
- DLSU Lady Spikers (10-0)
- NU Lady Bulldogs (8-3)
- UST Golden Tigresses (7-4)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws (6-4)
- AdU Lady Falcons (6-5)
- UP Fighting Maroons (4-6)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-10)
- UE Lady Red Warriors (0-11)
