Ateneo Men's Volleyball Match #4 A Numbing Loss

Ateneo vs. UP
22-25, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26

Match 4
December 9, 2007
Blue Eagle Gym

Timmy Sto. Tomas sat quietly during the post-game huddle. He stared somewhat blankly ahead then looked at his coaches who were dissecting the four-set loss to UP. He stole another look at the court where the squads of National University and the University of the East were warming up. His teammate, freshman Julborg Africa angrily stomped his foot and it shook Sto. Tomas out of his state of shock.

Outside the gym, sweat dripped profusely down senior Mark Salvador’s face. He paced about not sure what to do. He gulped down some water then shook his head several times. “I thought we had that,” his dejected voice trailed off.

The Ateneo Men’s Volleyball team played their best game of the year yet lost their fourth straight match. Every set was hotly contested. Unfortunately, several missed or bad calls prevented them from taking the game to a fifth and deciding set and maybe even their first win. A win would have been nice and done wonders for the team’s confidence. The loss left quite a few questions like who will step up to be the team’s go-to player during crunchtime and if they can still dig deeper into any reservoirs of heart and determination. On the brighter side, you could say that the team is getting better with every game. But they are fast running out of matches and they have to pull down a few W’s if they want to go farther. Only that’s looking too far ahead. It’s the here and now that matters.

Morning games – those scheduled at the ungodly hour of 8am – are hard to play. You have to wake up early to get ready then you have to psyche yourself up. More so when you need a win.

The Blue Spikers were up against a favored UP squad that even if stocked with sophomores and juniors was solid in every way. “It’s not going to be an easy match,” said Ateneo coach Ronald Dulay. “Title favorites ‘tong UP. Magaling yung setter nila at mahusay yung mga blockers nila. Tignan natin kung paano mag-respond yung mga bata sa pressure.”

Save for the third set where Ateneo momentarily lost focus and quickly fell behind, the Blue Spikers oft led early and when they got into a hole, fought back and made a game of it. They lost a close first set that was marred by a couple of crucial calls by the net umpire including one where he incorrectly ruled out a Salvador spike that was clearly in. Instead of folding, Ateneo won back the second set on a more aggressive attacking game that surprised UP.

Mike de Joya pounded the Maroons’ defense all game long with his powerful strikes and superb blocks. Sto. Tomas was creative with his sneak attacks and kills while AJ Pareja who scored low on his attack percentage, helped shore up Ateneo’s roof. It was his block in the fourth set that put tied things up at 22-all. An error by UP’s backline gave the Blue Spikers an opportunity to square matters, but Martin Limgenco, who played well in their previous match against Adamson was a little quiet but managed to chip in some points and blocks.

In the fourth set that went down the wire, Ateneo forged ahead 26-25 on a receiving error by the Maroon spikers. After UP tied off a kill, the referee failed to call a palming violation on a Maroon player (his second such non-call of the match) that gave a 26-27 lead to the State U team. An Ateneo sideout on the ensuing play ended the match and a visibly dejected home team couldn’t contain its anger.

“Hindi ako mahilig maghanap ng excuses,” said Dulay who glowered at the officials over some calls that turned the tide of the match. “Pero sometimes a call can change the complexion of the game.”

“Konti na lang,” encouraged Ateneo Volleyball Program Head Sherwin Malonzo who did his best to cheer up the downcast team. “Pinakita niyo na kaya niyo makipagsabayan. Now its time to step up more and see if we can turn this around.”

The team then gathered around in prayer and broke for a muted “one big fight.”