Ateneo needs more maturity, says captain Madayag

Ateneo Lady Eagles. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

For two straight games in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball, Ateneo has been coming up short in matches that have ended in five sets.

The first was the Lady Eagles’ collapse in their season-opener against Far Eastern University, and the second was their failed comeback attempt against National University.

Those losses have put Ateneo on a 0-2 card, the school’s worst start in recent memory eclipsing the 1-1 mark in Season 73, and captain Maddie Madayag knows that the Lady Eagles still need to mature if they ever hope of getting back to elite status.

“We still need the maturity because we’ve been talking about starting strong and ending games strong,” said Madayag in Filipino Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Centre. “Because sometimes we’ll start strong either that or we’ll have a slow start then a strong finish.”

Ateneo did have a slow start against the Lady Bulldogs, falling two sets to none before forcing a fifth set through a spirited fourth run that ended in the most lopsided score line of the match.

The Lady Eagles, however, ultimately faltered in the deciding set when a couple of errors spelled their untimely demise.

Madayag was the first to commit a crucial miscue when her service error gave NU an 8-6 advantage, then Kat Tolentino followed it up when her hit struck the net giving the Lady Bulldogs an 11-7 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs eventually capitalized on the errors with Audrey Paran scoring a block, 12-7, and Jasmine Nabor scoring three straight aces to finish the match.

Madayag said their lack of maturity can be attributed to her team’s inexperience as Ateneo have seven new players in its lineup for Season 80.

“The new players just need to have that confidence in them,” said Madayag who had six points. “I was the one giving them the confidence earlier but when I went to the bench they became quiet, no one was talking anymore.”

Madayag added their losses should serve as lessons as they look for sustained improvement throughout the tournament.

“I guess this will give us more lessons on not giving in so easily,” said Madayag. “I think we’re wasting chances here because we’re already in the fifth set and in the end we would end up slipping.”