V-League: Adamson and Ateneo both victorious in three sets, Lady Eagles remain undefeated

The Adamson Lady Falcons and the Ateneo Lady Eagles were winners, Sunday, in the tenth season of the Shakey’s V-League, held at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan, with the defending champs Ateneo sweeping through the elimination round with a perfect 4-0 record. The first match featured the UAAP's Adamson Lady Falcons winning in three sets, 25-17, 25-21, and 25-21, against NCAA squad Arellano Lady Chiefs. With seven lead changes to kick-off the first set, care of the back-and-forth action displayed by the Lady Falcons and the Lady Chiefs, Adamson found themselves ahead by just one point by the first technical timeout at 8-7. The Falcons trio of Shiela Pineda, Angela Benting, and Pau Soriano delivered cleanly hit spikes, which Chiefs power hitter MJ Balse immediately countered with attacks of her own. The blocking of Faye Guevara changed the pace of the match though, as the Lady Falcons pulled away with a 21-12 lead in the set, before eventually taking it, 25-17. Diane Ticar of the Lady Chiefs started the second set in perfect form as she delivered a couple of service aces and a veteran tip to propel her team to an 8-5 advantage. But that was when Benting would take over with four straight points of her own, to put her team in the lead at 9-8. The combination of Soriano and Pineda took the Lady Falcons to an 18-15 advantage before Nene Bautista carried the load of the Lady Chiefs to tie the set at 19-all. But key contributions from Jennifer Macatuno and Mylene Paat were too big of a boost to Soriano’s red-hot offense, as the Lady Chiefs dropped the set, 25-21.   The Lady Falcons had control of the third as they piled on a quick 8-2 lead. Soriano, Pineda, and Benting remained aggressive as they never took their feet off the gas pedal. Despite the effort of Elaine Sagun, Danna Henson, and Balse, the Lady Falcons were too much to handle for the Lady Chiefs. With Mayette Zapanta entering the match with a set of fresh legs, Adamson delivered the finishing touches to secure the win at 25-21. The second game of the doubleheader was the battle between blue and green, as the Ateneo Lady Eagles dominated the De La Salle Dasmarinas Lady Patriots in three sets, 25-12, 25-12 and 25-17. The first set started with the expected, Alyssa Valdez and Rachel Anne Daquis pleasing the crowd, as they scored with ease. The girls in Blue and White held an 8-2 advantage entering the first technical time out.   Cherry Rose Nunag and Monique Tiangco of the Lady Patriots would trim the lead to 9-5, but the Lady Eagles proved to be too much for the Lady patriots, as Ateneo took care of business at 25-12. With Jennifer Manzano struggling to find her usual rhythm, Lumi Yongco stepped-up for the Lady Patriots. The set was a tight one by the first technical timeout, with Ateneo ahead by just two, 8-6. Unfortunately for the Lady Patriots, their score would not change by the second technical timeout, as Fille Cainglet put on a serving exhibition to propel the Lady Eagles ahead at 16-6.  The scoring run of Ateneo reached as much as a 15-0 streak with the Lady Eagles on top 20-6. Mae Tajima, Gizelle Tan, and Marge Tejada would contribute to the Ateneo offense as they grabbed the second set easily at 25-12. The Lady Patriots’ 7-5 lead early in the third set was simply not enough as Daquis took the game into her hands. With the Lady Eagles calmly regaining the lead at 8-7, the momentum of the set was clearly back to the defending champions’ side. Jirah Llaneta and Amy Ahomiro played significant minutes in the third set, while Bea Tan served as the libero for the Lady Eagles. Regardless of the line-up though, Ateneo took control and finished things off with a score of 25-17. Ateneo’s aggressiveness forced the Lady Patriots to multiple mistakes as the Lady Eagles scored 24 markers coming from their opponents’ errors. As a result, the Lady Eagles finished the elimination round undefeated at 4-0. - CLP/AMD, GMA News