MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo Blue Eagles rolled through the winners’ column in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament for the first time in stunning fashion, blowing out the once-undefeated UP Fighting Maroons, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, February 23.
After playing sparingly in Ateneo’s first two losses due to injury rehab, winger Sobe Buena came out in full force just as her team needed her most, erupting with a game-high 17 points on 15-of-27 attacking efficiency, while veteran setter Taks Fujimoto tossed 14 excellent sets.
Captain Lyann de Guzman showed up as well with 14 points on 12 attacks and 2 aces, while veteran blocker AC Miner towered with 12 points on 7 hits, 4 blocks, and 1 ace.
“With all that has happened, including our sacrifices these past few months, of course we’re so happy because we got this first win,” De Guzman said in Filipino.
“I hope that it boosts our confidence and we can work on improving our skills, since we know what we can truly give in the game.”
Quickly seizing momentum after UP rolled with a surprising starting lineup that featured none of their key cogs, Ateneo exploded to a 25-18 opener before the Maroons rebounded with a 16-10 start to the second as head coach Benson Bocboc finally fielded top options Joan Monares and Niña Ytang.
However, the chemistry just wasn’t the same for the ragtag UP rotation as the Eagles exploded with a stunning 15-6 finish capped with a Buena hammer to take a two-set advantage.
The bottom fell out from the Maroons right after as Buena kept up the pressure, scoring back-to-back hits to clinch Ateneo’s biggest insurmountable lead, 18-9, on the way to a blowout breakthrough win.
Irah Jaboneta paced the disappointing loss with 11 points as Monares and Kianne Olango scored just 3 points each after respectively averaging 18.0 and 16.0 points in UP’s first two wins. – Rappler.com