By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Games Saturday
(The Arena, San Juan City)
8 a.m. – UE vs FEU (Men’s)
10 a.m. – Adamson vs La Salle (Men’s)
2 p.m. – UE vs FEU (Women’s)
4 p.m. – Adamson vs La Salle
Ateneo got its defensive rhythm in the crunch and eked out a 25-18, 14-25, 25-18, 15-25, 15-10 win over Adamson yesterday in UAAP women’s volleyball at The Arena in San Juan City.
After an erratic fourth set which saw them commit 13 errors, the Lady Eagles put their act together in the deciding frame to pick up their third straight victory in five outings.
Back-to-back blocks from Kat Tolentino and Maddie Madayag sealed the win for Ateneo, which also got big points from Jules Samonte and Jho Maraguinot.
Leading only by a hairline 9-8, Samonte and Maraguinot shattered the Lady Falcons’ net defense with their off-the-block spikes as the Lady Eagles pulled away for good.
Madayag admitted they lacked focus particularly in their defense, and only regained their composure in the fifth.
“We weren’t really blocking, we were struggling and distracted, pero we gave everything we’ve got, yung mga paghihirap namin sa training,” said Madayag.
Adamson absorbed its second straight loss and dropped to 2-3.
In men’s action, reigning Most Valuable Player Marck Espejo exploded with 31 points to steer Ateneo past Adamson, 25-14, 25-27, 25-23, 28-26.
Espejo highlighted his performance with 26 kills, three blocks and two aces as the Eagles improved to 4-1 for solo second. Adamson dropped to 1-4.
La Salle, for its part, went to Raymark Woo and Arjay Onia to edge University of the East, 25-14, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, for 3-1 card.
Woo and Onia combined for 43 points.