Ateneo Women's Volleyball: That Game Where They Gave UST All They Can Handle

That Game Where They Gave UST All They Can Handle
Ateneo vs. UST
21-25, 25-22, 25-27, 20-25
by rick olivares

February 1, 2009
The Arena of San Juan
After the first round match between Ateneo and UST in the Women’s Volleyball Tournament, there was much disappointment not just among the coaching staff but the players. If there was one team they wanted to play and beat it was the Tigresses, last year’s losing finalist. They knew they were capable of playing them tough but the Lady Spikers fell in three straight sets.

Though they had lost some of their mainstays, UST was still very much a good team. For Ateneo it wasn’t enough that they beat the lower tier teams but they had to beat one of those with a winning record. If there was a team they could edge out for the last bus to the semis, then it was Cesael Delos Santos’ quintet.

While his team warmed up before the start of the game, Ateneo Coach Roger Gorayeb idly sat by and expressed quiet confidence about his team. “Bibigyan namin sila ng magandang laban.”

But when the game started it seemed that his team had lapsed into its chronic bad play. At 16-8, the Ateneans didn’t seem to have an answer for the taller UST frontline of Aiza Maizo, Maika Ortiz, and Hannah Mance; the same trio that combined for 11 points off blocks in their first round encounter. And they held the Lady Spikers’ leading scorer Angeline Gervacio to a season low 9 points in the match.

Gorayeb called for time. This time, the team responded and showed UST that their true mettle.

If Delos Santos sat comfortably in his chair as his team built a seemingly insurmountable lead, by the time Ateneo was just behind by two points at 21-19, he was standing up and barking out at his players. His side ultimately prevailed as Ateneo lapsed into a series of reception errors 25-21.

The second set saw a gritty Ateneo team battle back from an early deficit to take the lead after a 17-all standoff. Gervacio and a resurgent Kara Acevedo led the attack and along with Bea Pascual and Gretchen Ho, they gave UST a dose of its own medicine with some solid defense at the net. At set point, Pascual drove a powerful shot into a hole in the backline. And then they were level.

The last thing Delos Santos wanted was for his team to give Ateneo confidence. He had seen them nearly upset FEU twice; a clear indication of the team’s potential even with only an eight-player rotation. Adamson too have to survive a five-set thriller before moving on. This team clearly wasn’t the same one they faced in the first round. They had come to play.

The third set saw a resurgent Fille Cainglet pick up the scoring slack as she pumped in most of her 9 points to keep Ateneo neck-and-neck. And Stephanie Gabriel’s heads up play at the backline gave her team a massive dose of confidence as she saved a couple of points with her hustle and poise. There was an opportunity to wrap up the third set but the Lady Spikers squandered a two point lead that the Tigresses overhauled for a crucial two sets to one lead.

If at this point UST thought that Ateneo had the wind knocked out of their sails then they had another thought coming. Despite falling into a hole early on like in the first set, Gervacio led the team into another spirited comeback. It was rather unfortunate that UST had an early lead that the team was never able to overhaul as the Tigresses wrapped up a hard fought match at 25-20.

After the match, Gorayeb felt a little bad. But not too bad. Sure his team lost but unlike the first round surrender, this time they fought back and threw in almost everything. If they could have thrown the kitchen sink they would have too. “Sayang,” he muttered. “Pero meron pa tayong laban.”

“Kita mo naman kung gugustuhin nilang lumaban kahit beterano ang katapat meron din ibibuga.”

And sometimes that’s all you can ever ask.