Lady Eagles finish fourth, face DLSU in Final Four

The Ateneo Lady Eagles failed to match their third-place finish in last year’s UAAP women’s volleyball tournament as they fell to the Adamson Lady Falcons in three straight sets (14-25, 21-26, 16-25). With the loss, the Lady Eagles fell to fourth place in Season 73. They will face rival De La Salle Lady Spikers in the semi-finals.

It was the second straight three-set loss for the Lady Eagles after a seven-game, 21-set winning streak. Bea Pascual and Fille Cainglet each had nine points for Ateneo.

The Lady Eagles came out sluggish in the first set, and seemed to be overwhelmed by the more focused Lady Falcons. Spikes and blocks from the Adamson side placed the Lady Eagles in a 10-5 hole that prompted Coach Roger Gorayeb to call a time-out. He exhorted the girls to think on the floor, but the Lady Falcons continued their onslaught. Kills from Cainglet and Gretchen Ho kept the Lady Eagles in the game, but they were unable to catch up to Adamson and dropped the first set, 14-25.

The Lady Eagles were much more active in the second set. After falling behind 4-10 early, the Lady Eagles caught up thanks to kills from Cainglet, Ho and Angeline Gervacio. Bea Pascual provided the scoring spark for the Lady Eagles, scoring again and again as Ateneo tried to mount a comeback. Unfortunately, errors late in the set doomed the Lady Eagles and they lost 21-25.

Despite being determined to extend the game, the Lady Eagles were unable to match Adamson in the third set. Adamson placed them in a 2-8 hole early but Ateneo fought back and managed to trim the lead to two, 11-13. That was the closest they can get, however, as Adamson took the set 16-25.

For the second straight game, the Lady Eagles’ usually potent offense seemed stagnant. This time, Adamson’s floor defense prevented the Lady Eagles from scoring via their usual spikes and blocks. Despite being the best receiving team in the league, Ateneo scrambled when setting up their offense and team captain Jamenea Ferrer once again had trouble setting up her teammates. Pascual was the bright spot for the Ateneo offense as her spikes gave fits to the Adamson defenders. Unfortunately for the Lady Eagles, their other scorers – Cainglet, Ho, Gervacio and Acevedo – had subpar games.

The Lady Eagles will try to bounce back and extend their season against the De La Salle Lady Spikers on February 19, Saturday, 4PM at the FilOil Arena in San Juan for the semi-final round of the UAAP Volleyball Tournament.

By Camille B. Naredo