No flight of fancy
Still think you can sleep on these Lady Falcons? Think again. On the day Ateneo captured its third straight win, Adamson dealt National University a third consecutive defeat in another major shakeup Wednesday in the topsy-turvy UAAP women’s volleyball at FilOil Flying V Center.
Adamson continued burying last season’s failures deep in the recesses of forgotten history, hammering out a masterful 25-19, 25-15, 18-25, 25-13 victory to remain in Final Four contention.
Fhen Emnas opened the firing lanes for the Lady Falcons, who have an even 5-5 card after a second straight victory.
“We showed the energy today but most importantly we showed trust in each other and communication on the court,” said Emnas. She launched 35 excellent sets aside from making six points.
Jema Galanza scored 16, Joy Dacoron 13 and Mylene Paat 11 for the Lady Falcons, who missed injured scorer Chiara Permentilla.
“We know that we need to win this match and get the momentum and confidence,” said Emnas who scored all her points via dumps that ruined NU’s defenses.
“This is super important because the last time we did this (back-to-back wins) was over a month ago,” said Adamson coach Air Padda, referring to victories over University of the Philippines and Far Eastern U at the start of the tournament.
“More than ever right now we need to create momentum and keep it going. It’s important for the team’s confidence, it’s important for us coaches.”
NU started off on the wrong foot committing a combined 23 unforced errors in the first two frames.
Jaja Santiago managed to score 19 for the Lady Bulldogs but the Lady Falcons already built enough momentum to deal the first round’s most dominant team its fourth defeat in 10 games.
Earlier, Ateneo trimmed University of the East, 25-14, 18-25, 25-12, 25-18.
The Lady Eagles got another inspired performance from Kat Tolentino who scored 22 points, including five kill-blocks as she ruled the net area like a tyrant.
It was the third straight win for Ateneo, which boosted its stock to 7-3, a notch behind leader and fierce rival La Salle.
Though UE is already overachieving with a 2-8 card following two dismal seasons where it totaled two wins, it tried to fight back after springing to life in the second frame.
But it all fizzled out against the systematic Ateneo crew which dealt UE its second straight loss.
Jho Maraguinot added 16 points, Maddie Madayag 13 and Julianne Samonte 11 for the Lady Eagles, who led in all departments except in service aces (4-9).
The Lady Eagles had more attacks than the Lady Warriors, 54-38, and also shuttered more kills, 13-3.
Deanna Wong ran a near-seamless offense, tossing 50 excellent sets compared to 20 by her counterpart, Laizah Bendong. Ateneo also showed hard work in digs, 74-58.
