MANILA – Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles turned back Adamson University Lady Falcons, 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball on Wednesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After squandering a 20-12 lead in the third set, the Blue Eagles completed the job in the fourth with Sobe Buena spearheading a quick 3-0 swing that turned a 20-21 deficit into a 23-21 advantage.
Ayesha Juegos stopped the bleeding for the Lady Falcons with a conversion to cut the deficit to 22-23, but Buena responded with a crosscourt attack to put the Blue Eagles at match point, 24-22.
The Blue Eagles then committed a service error courtesy of rookie Jennifer Delos Santos, but Buena answered back with a game-clinching attack to secure the hard-earned win.
Buena led the way for the Blue Eagles with 22 points, same output as veteran hitter Lyann de Guzman as they snapped a two-game losing skid to improve to a 2-4 win-loss slate.
Zel Tsunashima and Alexa Miner also finished in double figures for Ateneo, scoring 12 points each, Taks Fujimoto had 15 excellent sets and fired two service aces while Ilongga Roma Mae Doromal tallied 19 excellent digs and 16 excellent receptions.
“First, congrats to all the players and the staff. I’m so happy with how the team played all the time with energy,” Blue Eagles head coach Sergio Veloso said in a post-game interview.
“They followed the tactics. And the most important [thing], we used our service because the service is the first attack,” he added. “Hopefully, this will start a winning streak for us.”
Lucille Almonte, May Ann Nuique, and Ishie Lalongisip all had 11 points for the Lady Falcons, which suffered its fourth defeat in six matches in the tournament.
The Blue Eagles will close out the first round of eliminations against Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws on Sunday, while the Falcons will tangle with University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses on Saturday./PN
