Ateneo still adjusting, says skipper Madayag

FILE — Maddie Madayag. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Ateneo had a disappointing start to its campaign in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament after losing to Far Eastern University in five sets, 19-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-9.

Team captain Maddie Madayag, however, knows the loss will ultimately help them in the long run.

“It’s better to lose at first than when you just keep on winning and then suddenly you lose one,” said Madayag in Filipino Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.

“This was a learning experience for us because we knew what we still have to improve on and work on after this loss.”

And the area of improvement Madayag was pointing to was their chemistry on the floor.

Almost half of the team’s roster is new with Jia Morado, Kim Gequillana, Mich Morente, Gizelle Tan, Jamie Lavitoria, and Ana Gopico having left the Lady Eagles’ roost.

Fillling up the positions are a bunch of rookies and former Team B members in Bettina Abella, Sydney Eleazar, Candice Gequillana, Jenelle Lo, Vanessa Baguiwet, Annarie Basa, and Dani Ravena.

“We’re still gelling as a team,” said Madayag who had four points against the Lady Tamaraws. “We still fought, it’s just that we couldn’t get away from all the errors because we really had a lot of errors earlier.”

Ateneo committed 40 errors in the match, and even FEU’s last point were off a Lady Eagle miscue when Kat Tolentino sent the ball beyond the Lady Tamaraws’ baseline.

And it wasn’t just the errors that plagued Ateneo, the Lady Eagles also allowed FEU to score 20 service aces, with the last three proving to be crucial for the Lady Tamaraws.

With the score tied at 9, Toni Rose Basas found the sweet spot in Ateneo’s defense three straight times while positioned at the service zone that put FEU up 12-9.

“We’re still adjusting to each other, hopefully by the second game we can play a lot better,” said Madayag.