Ateneo Women's Volleyball Game 14: Will You...?

Will You...?

Ateneo def. Adamson

25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 25-19

by rick olivares

This also appears in ateneo.edu

Will you… win going into the Final Four?

Will you… clinch third seed to earn the right to play your volleyball archrival UST?

Three years ago, the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team made the Final Four for the first time in its history. The team had Charo Soriano, Karla Bello, and Patty Taganas but as good as they were in their final year of play, they had an unintended assist when La Salle forfeited some games because of a snafu by Jackie Alarca. They made it in but couldn’t beat any of the top tier teams.

And the Adamson Lady Falcons, who had their number in seasons past, promptly knocked them out in one match.

This year, it’s been a season of high fashion and of high drama. In their new one-piece suits, the team struggled early on to get their bearings. It seemed that the team would make the news more for their fashion statement than their game. With last year’s superb rookie class a year older, the goal was a little loftier now -- the Final Four. It put pressure on the team. But the team finished at 5-2 at the end of the first round, their best showing to date. Although the Lady Spikers lost two straight matches – to DLSU and to UST – to start the second round, they righted their ship and won their last four matches with their final elimination round assignment being Adamson.

The game had implications in spite of both squads having already made the bus to the semis. For one, there was the opportunity to be the third seed and play UST instead of top ranked DLSU. It was a matter of picking one’s poison. Both were the cream of UAAP volleyball competition but between the two, UST was a little more inconsistent while the defending champs were a juggernaut. Second, a win that would give them a 10-4 record, would earn them their best record yet in UAAP competition. Perhaps more importantly, give them some momentum heading into the Final Four.

The Lady Falcons despite losing some of their veteran players are still a tough bunch. They’ve always made their living feeding off defense and the mistakes of other teams. But Ateneo, as relayed by Charo Soriano seconds before the game started, is ready. “They know what they need to do.”

In their first round match, they shut down Benting but left her teammates open to make up for the lack of scoring by their star. “Bakit hindi lahat i-shut down ninyo?” asked team coach Roger Gorayeb after the first round outing.

Come the rematch, Ateneo was eager to give Adamson a dose of their own medicine.

They played what team manager Tony Liao said afterwards, “was close to perfect volleyball in the first two sets.” They helped out on defense when there were dinks, they shut down Benting and Pau Soriano, and scored 9 points on blocks.

Throughout the whole match, the Lady Eagles were better percentage-wise on digs and setting and equal on receptions.

Although they wavered in the third set as they gave up four service errors (five overall as they lost the set) that allowed Adamson to taste the lead for the first time at 4-3 and later at 11-10, they quickly regrouped and were once more solid at the net in the fourth.

The game was especially sweet for Ateneo captain Kara Acevedo who on top with having to deal with an assortment of injuries had seen not much playing time that dampened her confidence. She started all four sets, scored 8 points, had 21 excellent digs, and 9 successful receptions (in 15 attempts).

During match point that Fille Cainglet served, Benting was blocked at the net by Bea Pascual and Dzi Gervacio. A free ball allowed Jem Ferrer to set up Gervacio for a monstrous spike that Adamson’s Luisa Zapanta and Soriano tried to block, but Ateneo’s wondrous sophomore, a candidate for the league MVP Award, sent in to the left and the ball stayed in for the winning point.

As her team celebrated on the floor, Acevedo was led away by television production assistants. She was adjudged the game’s Best Player. She bounced around and yelled again and again, “We’re third place!”

Two days before their Saturday match with Adamson, the team thought of a Valentine’s Day gimmick where they would all wear white t-shirts with personalized messages written in red pen ink on the front and the back.

The shirts all read “Will you” in front with different messages that ran from the funny to the clever to the personal. Gervacio’s read, “make me sing?” Pascual had “wait for me?” Seldom used middle blocker Aillyse Nacachi, who is nicknamed “A,” had “complete my alphabet?”

Acevedo's shirt had, “Will you dance with me?”

As she celebrated on center court after their momentous win, the best ever by an Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team outside the import-laden V-League, she bounced and danced around. She found her dance partners. With her 11 other teammates and the Ateneo crowd that was rocking the San Juan Arena.

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For the rest of my "Will you...?" photos, friends can check them out in my Facebook account. Cheers!

Congrats to Roger Gorayeb and the girls! Whooooo! Good luck in the Final Four.