Ateneo Women's Volleyball Match 1 Sending A Statement

Ateneo vs National University
25-20, 24-26, 25-14, 25-13
by rick olivares

Match 1
December 10, 2007
Blue Eagle Gym

Scarcely had the game between Ateneo and National University ended – the television crews hadn’t even begun to dismantle their equipment when the Lady Spikers’ coach Ronald Dulay had his victorious team running drills and laps around the court.

There are high expectations for the Lady Spikers this Season 70. Notwithstanding their 2nd Runner-u finish in the Shakey’s V-League 2nd Conference (where Thai import Lithawat Kesinee played a huge role in the team’s finish), the team with three super seniors in its fold are expected to contend for the UAAP Women’s Volleyball title.

Up against NU, the team wasn’t expecting much opposition. Neither was anyone expecting the Lady Spikers to be lax and unfocused. More so since it was their first game of the tournament. And Dulay made sure to make his displeasure about their game known.

Surprisingly, there was a seeming lack of communication and defense from the starters. And Misha Quimpo, recently converted to libero (who understandably just got back from an injury) and Katrina Sison were having all sorts receiving and attacking problems. The problems in the backline continued well into the second set before Dulay placed Charo Soriano in the back to meet NU’s serves. Nevertheless, Ateneo had enough firepower to stave off the upset conscious Lady Bulldogs as they won an error-filled first set.

Perhaps thinking that their foes from Gastambide were going to roll over meekly and die, the Lady Spikers continued their lackluster play in the second set. Something NU capitalized on by leveling the match at a set apiece.

As smiles evaporated from the Ateneans’ faces, the coaches and players from FEU, UST, DLSU, and UE watched curiously from the stands. Whether they saw a chink in the armor of Ateneo is anyone’s guess, but one thing was for sure, NU had not faced the full measure of the girls in blue.

After Dulay sounded off the alarm bells, the Lady Spikers showed what they could be like when it was all business. The game plan was to attack NU’s weak middle and Soriano hammered away 24 attacking points (for a game high total of 28 points to NU’s Jennifer Cardoniga who finished with a far 14). Fellow senior Patty Taganas added 10 with two coming off service aces.

With the exception of another momentary lapse at the end, they made short work of NU with 25-14 and 25-13 to notch their first win.

Crsytal Ballentyne made a strong case for Ateneo’s first two-sport college star since Vince Santos in the 1990’s (with the Blue Eagles and the 1996 champion Blue Booters where he was named tournament MVP) with a sterling debut as she contributed points off spikes and blocks while playing major minutes. “She’ll get better once she’s in volleyball shape,” gushed the school’s volleyball program head Sherwin Malonzo, himself a very good volleyball player for Ateneo in high school.

“I heard good things about her,” explained University Athletics boss Ricky Palou about Ballentyne. “I had to put my foot down to make sure that she was included in the line-up. And it looks like she’ll be a major contributor. We have a good team. But the team has to be more focused. Hindi pwede yung bibigyan nila ng buhay yung kalaban. When they’re on, they’re hard to beat.”

And so Dulay put the team through their paces (as they huffed and puffed) with some drills and running laps around the court. “I hope everyone realizes that we’re not here for fun and games,” said Malonzo who stood at the sidelines discussing matters with other athletics officials. “I think that the reason why the others (Karla Bello, Soriano, and Taganas) came back was to compete for a championship. And they have to focus on that.”

And with a collision course this early (they play tomorrow, Wednesday at 2pm) with the newly crowned V-League champions UST, like the saying goes, this is where we see if they have what it takes.

Go Ateneo! Go Lady Spikers!