By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The National University Lady Bulldogs overcame their slow first set start and swept the last three to take down the Ateneo de Manila University, 18-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18, in the ongoing UAAP Season 84 Women’s Volleyball tournament.
It was the start that Ateneo wanted to build a much-needed momentum against the undefeated and the no. 1 team in the tournament.
Jaja Maraguinot had a stellar opening set for Ateneo and fed her opposite spikers very well, countering the NU defense after making good reads as to where their blockers are.
Aside from Maraguinot’s tremendous orchestrating of their offense, Roma Doromal also rose to the occasion and led their floor defense with 17 excellent receptions and 12 excellent digs.
However, after a flawless first set, the Lady Bulldogs were quick to flip the switch and looked like a different team as they committed fewer unforced errors and varied their offensive attack to jumpstart the second set with a lead.
Mhicaela Belen finally broke out of her shell after a first set slump and sparked the NU attack backstopped by team captain Princess Robles.
Belen and Robles finished with 19 and 16 points respectively and also led their defensive communication that disrupted the Ateneo rhythm throughout the three remaining sets.
“Siguro wake up call din sa amin ‘to na kailangan mag laro kami nang maayos, kailangan pag hirapan namin every point, siguro every set kasi hindi kami puwedeng maging complacent sa situation ngayon,” said NU head coach Karl Dimaculangan.
As NU started to pick up their pace and regain their desired tempo, the Ateneo squad meanwhile found themselves in deep trouble as they never recovered from an error-plagued game.
Faith Nisperos, one of Ateneo’s focal points in offense, only contributed 11 points built from nine converted attacks from 47 overall attempts.
“Ateneo, Ateneo pa rin yun. Kahit anong standing nila Ateneo pa rin yun so kailangan mag trabaho kami nang maayos palagi, yung mindset namin kailangan naming i-focus. More on mental sa amin,” Dimaculangan added.
