The Ateneo de Manila Women’s Volleyball team defeated the Adamson University Lady Falcons in 4 sets, 25-16, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, on Saturday afternoon for their second round meeting.

The Lady Eagles started off strong in the first set, scoring 12 attack points over Adamson’s 7. The first set was also the shortest one in the game. It was finished in 21 minutes with the Lady Eagles taking it, 25-16.

The Lady Eagles managed to escape with a 25-22 win in the second set to take a 2 set lead over the Lady Falcons.

Ateneo had a couple of chances to close out the match in the third set but unforced errors, 8 in the third set, allowed Adamson to stay in the match.

But with Player of the Game, Jem Ferrer, giving excellent sets, well placed attacks from team captain Fille Cainglet, Alyssa Valdez, and Dzi Gervacio gave Ateneo the fourth set and the match, 25-19.

Valdez top-scored for the Lady Eagles with 19 points while Cainglet and Gervacio added 18 and 13 respectively. Ferrer had 41 excellent sets in the match and libero Dennise Lazaro had 18 excellent digs.

The Lady Eagles will aim for their 10^th win this season when they face the FEU Lady Tamaraws on Feb. 5, Sunday, at 3:30 pm.

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Earlier in the day, the Ateneo de Manila Men’s Volleyball team lost to the National University spikers in straight sets, 16-25, 17-25, 20-25.

Ricci Gonzales and Ysrael Marasigan had 6 points each to lead the Blue Eagles in scoring.

The Blue Eagles will aim for their second win this season when they go up against Adamson University on Feb 4, Saturday, at 10:30 am at the FilOil/Flying V Arena.

STATS:

The spectators were treated to a high octane match as the teams traded points. Angeline Gervacio was on fire as she scored on 13 spike attacks, 3 blocks, and 3 service aces. Sneaky soft drops of setter Jem Ferrer gave Ateneo a couple of points as well.

Gervacio top scored for the Lady Eagles with 19 points, while Cainglet and Valdez added 14 and 12 respectively. Dennise Lazaro had 15 excellent digs and Ferrer had 51 excellent sets.

Earlier, the Blue Eagles fell to their Adamson University counterparts in straight sets, 21-25, 14-25, 22-25.

The Adamson spikers exploited open areas in Ateneo’s defense. The Blue Eagles also suffered from miscues and miscommunication.

Ricci Gonzales led the Eagles in scoring with 11 points. John Paul Pareja contributed 9 points with 18 excellent digs while Duane Teves added 8 points. Eduardo Ortega had 33 excellent digs.

Both Men’s and Women’s team will start their second round on Sunday, January 15. The Blue Eagles will face the De La Salle spikers at 9 am while the Lady Eagles will go up against UST at 3:30 pm. Both games will be held at the FilOil/Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Ateneo Blue Eagles vs AdU Stats and Scores

Ateneo Lady Eagles vs AdU Stats and Scores

Seeing his squad faltering to a quagmire of errors and nonchalance, Coach Roger Gorayeb admonished the Lady Eagles for their carefree play and exhorted them to focus on the job at hand and take things seriously.

Trailing 18-20 in the second set against the winless, cellar-dwelling Lady Maroons, Fille Cainglet took to heart her coach’s orders and sparked a 7-1 blitz with her devastating yet graceful spikes to snatch the set as she spearheaded the Lady Eagles in sweeping the Lady Maroons, 3-0, (25-13, 25-21, 25-12).

The Lady Eagles cruised past the Lady Maroons in the opening salvo with Alyssa Valdez catching fire early and instigating an early barrage of spectacular kills that blew the game wide open, 19-10. Key reserve, Ella de Jesus whose hops earned her the moniker “Ella-vator” and second-string players Tash Faustino and Mona Bagatsing entered the game to wrap up the first set, 25-13.

The scare came in the ensuing set when the Lady Maroons led the race to the two technical time-outs, leading 6-8, and then 14-16. In the time-out, the furious Gorayeb told his wards that they were taking their errors lightly which gave UP the lead and the momentum. Just before the Lady Eagles stormed back to the court, the ever-quotable Gorayeb told his team to put “intensity” in their dictionaries. Then Cainglet quickly showed Gorayeb the meaning of the word by unleashing a couple of axed-like kills, and scoring four of the seven points the Lady Eagles pumped in to ice the second set, 25-21.

Gretchen Ho and Ailysse Nacachi drilled in four and five points respectively in the third set as the Lady Eagles dominated the Lady Maroons on both offense and defense to complete the sweep, 25-12.

Cainglet and Valdez tallied 15-apiece while Ho and Gervacio contributed seven-apiece for the Lady Eagles who improved to second seed at 4-1.

Written by Rey Laxa

Horrendous reception time and again, the Lady Eagles failed to spark a consistent offense as they settled for disastrous plays most of the game. There were glimpses of their startling offense with the occasional splendid plays of Fille Cainglet, Alyssa Valdez and Dzi Gervacio but terrible reception simply made life difficult for them to have a fluid offense. Bad receptions made it hard even for the league’s best-setter, Jem Ferrer, as the ever-dependable setter had to scramble most of the times just to get in position to somehow toss the ball and set a play. That was the story of the game.

The De La Salle Lady Spikers successfully managed to expose the holes in the Lady Eagles defense to give the Katipunan-based volleybelles the first blemish on their slate with a, 1-3 (25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 21-25), victory in the continuation of UAAP Season 74’s volleyball tournament over the pulsating crowd of Flying V Arena in San Juan, Saturday afternoon.

As it has been the trend in their past two games, the Lady Eagles started out slowly in the opening set, trailing 6-12 in the early goings of the match. The trio of Cainglet, Valdez and Gervacio then orchestrated an astonishing 16-3 blitz for a commanding 22-15 cushion. The Taft-based spikers responded with a 5-0 rally to trim the lead to two, 22-20. Cainglet iced the set with a kill, 25-21 for a, 1-0, set lead.

Thinking that the Lady Eagles were in harmony and cadence once again, fans were clamoring for a sweep. “Diretsuhin na yan!” Only, it was not about to happen as their defense, particularly that of still-developing libero Denisse Lazaro, was constantly exposed and exploited by the towering front-line of the Lady Archers.

Trailing 11-18 in the second set, the Lady Eagles found ways to have brief scoring spurts to keep the game close but ultimately relinquished the set, 22-25. The same thing transpired in the ensuing set, they were playing catch-up but fell short of gaining the lead with incessant unforced errors and bad plays. They lost the third set, 18-25.

Anxiety filled the Ateneo crowd and people started exhorting the Lady Eagles to force a do-or-die fifth set and after three consecutive points by Cainglet that gave them an 8-7 lead, it seemed that the crowd’s wish was to be granted. La Salle though, was not going to play Santa Clause. Sporting the color green, the role of the Grinch fitted well.

The Lady Archers retook the lead at 8-10 before the opposing squads started trading points until they reached 18-19 in favor of La Salle. Cainglet committed back-to-back turnovers, extending La Salle’s lead, 18-21, before the resourceful Ferrer scored on a one-handed tip that went straight to the backline of La Salle’s court followed by a Valdez kill to bring the Lady Eagles an inch close, 20-21. A block by the imposing La Salle frontline dashed the hopes of the Lady Eagles for a fifth set, 21-25.

Analyzing the game, one could see the glaring difference between both squads. The Taft-based squad is a two-headed monster, terrific not only on offense but also on defense. With superb receptions come impeccable plays and quick sets. With execrable receptions comes stagnant offense: predictable plays and free balls.

Cainglet led the Lady Eagles with 24 markers followed by Valdez and Gervacio who poured, 10 and 9, respectively.

Abigail Marano, Michelle Gumabao and Alexandra Tan carried the scoring load for the Lady Archers, combining for 48 points.

 
Written by Rey Laxa

Their first set was mired by horrendous receptions and uncharacteristic errors that their Coach was fuming when they were down during the second technical timeout, 14-16. Failing to orchestrate plays on offense and looking terrible on defense, the Lady Eagles did not look like the dominant team that swept the Tigresses last Saturday.

They seemed nonchalant and lethargic one could surmise that it was nerve-wracking for them playing at home, or maybe they thought UE would hand the win to them – and serve it in a silver platter, as the cliché goes. No they won’t, unless you dazzle and demolish them of course. Unless the Lady Spikers wake up, the Lady Warriors were well on their way to scoring an upset.

That was until Fille Cainglet came along.

Fille Cainglet provided a spectacular performance and electrified the crowd by pouring in 20 points to lead the Ateneo Lady Eagles in sweeping the University of the East Lady Warriors, 3-0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-7) over the boisterous crowd of the Blue Eagle Gym to maintain an immaculate win-loss slate of 2-0 and grab the top spot in the early goings of the UAAP Season 74 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.

Languid at the start of the game, the Lady Eagles were trailing during most of the opening set as their execrable reception made it tough for them to set up plays. Down by five and pushed to the brink by the hungry Lady Warriors, 17-22, after a rare lifting call on Jem Ferrer, the Katipunan-based volleybelles sought to regroup.

Four errors and two kills from Cainglet later, the Lady Eagles have regained the lead 23-22, rejuvenating the anxious Ateneo crowd. The Lady Warriors countered with back-to-back points to take the lead, 24-23 before Ateneo scored three straight points punctuated by a Cainglet service ace to salvage the first set, 26-24.

The Lady Spikers went into rampage and asserted their domination in the second set as they made short work of the Lady Warriors after back-to-back aces by Bea Tan sealed the set, 25-12.

Clicking on both offense and defense, the Lady Spikers squandered nary time and exploited their advantages to the hilt. They blasted the Lady Warriors with a 10-0 blitz to win the third set and complete the sweep, 25-7.

The Lady Eagles will try to go for a 3-0 on Saturday, December 3, against the De La Salle Lady Archers. The match will be at 2:30 pm, an hour earlier to give way to the Azkals-LA Galaxy match. Catch the game live at the FilOil/Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Written by Rey Laxa

The core of the team – Dzi Gervacio, Fille Cainglet, Jem Ferrer, Gretchen Ho and Ailysse Nacachi – have been together for four years now. Together they went through a lot of mishaps and heartbreaks that people started questioning whether this batch of Lady Eagles will ever get through the hump.

After winning the crown of the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 First Conference early this year and finishing third in the Open Conference dominated by professional teams, the Lady Spikers have made sure people know they are dead serious in preparation for the UAAP.

The hard-hitting trio of Alyssa Valdez, Cainglet, and Gervacio drilled in a combined 36 points to spearhead the Katipunan-based volleybelles in a, 3 set to none drubbing of the University of Sto. Tomas Tigresses to kick things off in their first game of the UAAP Season 74 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.

Ateneo led early in the first set, but both teams lapsed into an array of errors, with UST closing the gap with a 3-0 run; trimming the lead to 11-10. Holding on to a precarious single-point lead, the Lady Eagles unleashed a 7-0 blitz sparked by four points from Gervacio and a whimsical reversed-dig return by Valdez to blow the game wide open, 18-10. A kill by Cainglet capped things off for the first set, 25-16.

The Tigresses came out reinvigorated in the ensuing set as Maru Banaticla and the towering Maika Ortiz caused the Lady Eagles problems on defense. Nevertheless, the Lady Spikers remained undaunted by the intimidating frontline of the Espana-based spikers and continued attacking until a wise drop by Valdez and another one of Ferrer’s tricky set drops broke the tie and gave Ateneo a 22-20, lead. UST retook the lead with another 3-0 run, 23-22, prompting a time-out by Ateneo Coach Roger Gorayeb. Valdez scored on a drop shot after the time-out before back-to-back errors by the Tigresses gave the Lady Eagles a 25-23 second set triumph.

Two years ago, a 2-0 lead for the Lady Eagles was hard to be considered an assurance for the win as there were a lot of games that they had this lead and went on to lose several games in their series of fifth-set collapses. Only now, those Lady Eagles have matured and grown up. Only now, those Lady Eagles are the veterans on the court.

Valdez sprained her ankle after teaming up for a block that gave Ateneo a 2-0 lead in the third set. There was a bit of nervousness that filled the Ateneo crowd when they saw Valdez being carried by her teammates and some from the coaching staff as she grabbed her ankle. Valdez did not return to action but was able to walk and join the celebration later on.

Two years ago, this team might have flinched after the injury. But that was two years ago, this time, they came out even feistier after Valdez got sidelined. Both teams engaged on a see-saw battle as Cainglet knotted the score at 14-apiece before UST regained the lead in the next play, 15-14.

It was then that the Lady Eagles waxed hot and came out ablaze while the Tigresses unraveled. The towering Ortiz of the Tigresses was harassed as her attacks were consistently foiled by smaller Lady Spikers like Jorella de Jesus and Gervacio. The Lady Eagles completed the sweep with a scintillating 11-3 blast to ice the third, 25-18.

Valdez topscored with 13 points followed by Cainglet with 12 and Gervacio with 11. Banaticla and Ortiz led the Tigresses with 12 and 10, respectively.

The smaller line-up of the Lady Eagles also led the blocks department through their scrappy play, 9-3.

The Lady Eagles will face their University of the East counterparts next. The match is scheduled for November 30, 2 pm, at the Blue Eagle Gym.

Written by Rey Laxa

The first set didn’t quite start the way the Lady Eagles would’ve wanted. Though committing the same number of errors, the Lady Eagles only scored on 7 attack points, compared to the Army’s 12. The first set ended at 16-25.

Ateneo showed renewed energy in the second set, blasting off to a 4-0 start. The Lady Eagles had the set point advantage at 24-20 but the Army caught up 24-23. An error from the Army, however, gave Ateneo the set point, and got away with a 25-23 win for the second set.

Despite a good showing in the second set, the Lady Eagles faltered for the rest of the match. They only scored on 6 attacks in the third set compared to the Army’s 15. Both teams committed the same number of errors but the Lady Eagles lost the set, 14-25.

Ateneo was not able to recover in the game to extend the match to a fifth set when the Army finished the match, 20-25, in the fourth set.

Alyssa Valdez topscored for the Lady Eagles with 13 attack points, 4 block points, and a service ace. Team Captain Fille Cainglet followed with 10 attack points and 2 block points.

Despite the loss, the Ateneo Lady Eagles will continue on to the quarterfinals round. The schedule for the quarterfinals will be released after the end of the qualifying round on Thursday, August 18.

From the start, it seemed like the tempo of the game is being dictated by the Navy, leading as many as 6 points, 2-8, before the first technical timeout of the set. Team Captain Fille Cainglet and Alyssa Valdez teamed up to try to bring the lead down. With the Navy committing a number of errors, the Lady Eagles were able to trim the lead down to 1, 13-14, before the Navy fired two points to bring the lead back to 3 before the second technical timeout. An attack by Cainglet gave the Lady Eagles another chance to get closer, 18-19, but the Navy fired 6 straight points to take the first set, 18-25.

The second set saw a change in the line-up of the Lady Eagles: Mona Bagatsing came in for Angeline Gervacio. Ateneo led for majority of the set until the Navy’s guest player, Suzanne Roces, spotted an opening and turned the tables on the Lady Eagles. But Ateneo would not give up easily, scoring two points to put the score at 23-24. But former Ateneo coach Michelle Laborte was able to see the hole in the Ateneo defense and the Lady dropped the second set, 23-25.

It was the same story in the third set. The Lady Eagles’ biggest lead was at 5, 9-5, but they were able to sustain the lead until Cecille Cruzada scored to give the lead to the Navy. Ateneo was plagued by errors that gave the Navy the opportunity to end the game at the third set, 21-25.

Alyssa Valdez led the team in scoring with 19 points followed by Fille Cainglet with 16 points. Cainglet also paced the defense with 10 excellent digs while Jem Ferrer had 30 excellent sets. The loss gives the Ateneo Lady Eagles a 2-3 win-loss record. Ateneo’s last game in the prelims will be on Tuesday, August 16, against the Philippine Army.

Scores:
ATENEO: Valdez 19, Cainglet 16, Ho 9, Patnongon 3, Bagatsing 2, Ferrer 2, Gervacio 1

NAVY: Bautista 15, Roces 14, Laborte 11, Cruzada 10, Prochina 2, Serafica 2

The first point of the match came after a long rally between the two teams. Alyssa Valdez spots an opening for a soft drop to draw first blood for Ateneo. The Lady Eagles were able to score a couple more points before the Lady Stags notched one of their own. Ateneo led throughout the first set but San Sebastian was able to tie the score several times. The Lady Eagles came out victorious, 26-24.

The second set was closely fought with neither team leading by more than 2 points until the Lady Stags made it a 19-22 set. A lucky shot and an attack from team captain Fille Cainglet gave the Lady Eagles a chance to extend the set, 21-24. But a long service from Gretchen Ho gave the Lady Stags a free pass and the set, 21-25.

With the Lady Stags dictating the tempo of the third quarter, the Lady Eagles were playing catch up throughout the whole set. The Lady Eagles were able to cut the lead down to 4, 16-20, but the Lady Stags had other plans. San Sebastian scored 5 straight points to take the third set, 16-25.

The morale of the team was low coming into the fourth set. Even more so when the set started. The Lady Stags rushed to a 0-8 lead over the Lady Eagles, which prompted Ateneo head coach Parley Tupaz to call a timeout. The Lady Eagles suffered their biggest deficit at 7-20. But the Lady Eagles refused to just roll over as shown by a last ditch effort from the ladies. But errors proved costly for Ateneo and they dropped the set and match 10-25.

Team captain Fille Cainglet topscored for the Lady Eagles with 15 points followed by Valdez with 13. Dennise Lazaro paced the defense with 14 excellent digs and Jem Ferrer had 31 excellent sets.

The Lady Eagles will try to bounce back from the losses when they face the Philippine Navy on August 11, 2 pm at the FilOil/Flying V Arena.

SCORES:
ATENEO: Cainglet 15, Valdez 13, Ho 9, Patnongon 6, Gervacio 4, Ferrer 2

SSC-R: Ford 27, Baulee 22, Benito 15, De Leon 5, Doria 3, Gustilo 3

The Lady Eagles tried to rally themselves back in the game off a Fille Cainglet attack but the Philippine Air Force had other plans as they scored the next 3 points of the set, putting Ateneo down 19-22. The Lady Eagles were plagued with errors and bad receptions, dropping the first set 21-25.

In the second set, the Lady Eagles had a couple of nice saves from Cainglet and Dennise Lazaro but they just couldn’t finish. They found themselves down 0-3 at the start of the set. However, blocks from Gretchen Ho and Dzi Gervacio, veteran moves by team captain Cainglet and powerful spikes from Alyssa Valdez brought the set to 24 all. Despite those, the Lady Eagles lost the second set 24-26. Poor blocking and reception cost the Lady Eagles the set.

Although down by 5 after the first technical timeout of the third set, the Lady Eagles were still determined to stay in the game as they got 5 continuous points from Gervacio, Cainglet and a couple of Philippine Air Force unforced errors. Cainglet gave the Lady Eagles their first lead at 13-12. After that, it was the Alyssa Valdez show as she spiked and blocked, lifting her team up 20-14. The veteran-filled Philippine Air Force, though, is not about to give up to as they scored 4 unanswered points, making it 20-18. However, the Lady Eagles had their own veterans as well as a Ho block and Cainglet kill sealed the set for the Lady Eagles, 25-20.

The Lady Eagles started off hot in the fourth set and found themselves leading for most part of the set until the Philippine Air Force tied the game at 18. A check ball call, favoring the Lady Eagles, got a displeased Air Force bench to their feet and jeers from the their supporters. After the game was tied at 22 thanks to a Valdez attack, it was a see-saw match between the two teams, extending the game to 29 all. However, the Philippine Air Force proved to be the better team in this match as the Lady Eagles dropped the fourth set 29-31.

The Ateneo Lady Eagles now have a 2-1 record and will try to bounce back as they take on the San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Tuesday, August 9, 4pm at the Fil Oil Flying V Arena.

Written by: Kara So Kua