Ateneo stuns UST for first win

Ateneo tacked its first win after taking down University of Santo Tomas, 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23, in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament Sunday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Lady Eagles improved to 1-2 to sport the same record as UST, which lost its libero Rica Rivera to a knee injury in the first set.

READ: UST libero Rivera suffers knee injury vs Ateneo

After trailing, 16-12, in the fourth set, the Lady Eagles battled back and took a 21-18 edge after Jules Samonte threaded the needle through UST’s blockade.

Cherry Rondina tried to keep UST alive with a booming kill that cut Ateneo’s lead to 24-22 and a triple block on Bea De Leon trimmed it further to 24-23.

De Leon, however, finished off UST with her next kill bouncing off the defense of UST rookie Milena Alessandrini.

“This win was really important because we could’ve been 0-3 and at the bottom, and now we’re at par with a lot of teams even UST,” said De Leon, who had 11 points for Ateneo.

Skipper Maddie Madayag said the trust they put on each other finally showed amid UST’s relentless push.

“I guess the trust we have with each other was there because if we don’t have it there’s really nowhere to go,” said Madayag who finished with nine points. “And I think their confidence is slowly starting to show especially when they receive UST’s hits.”

Kat Tolentino and Jhoanna Maraguinot also had 11 points apiece for Ateneo while Samonte added 10.

Rondina had 22 points to lead the Goden Tigresses while Alessandrini and Tin Francisco combined for 21 points.