Sobe Buena, Lyann De Guzman show way as Ateneo turns back Adamson for second win

Sobe Buena and Lyann De Guzman took turns in steering Ateneo past Adamson, 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, for its second win in the first round of the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday, March 13, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Blue Eagles snapped their back-to-back losses to rejoin the win column and improved 2-4 in the standings.

Buena and De Guzman posted 22 points apiece as Ateneo’s reliable 1-2 punch in the extended affair.

AC Miner and Zel Tunashima contributed 12 markers each in the collective effort to end Ateneo’s slump.

The Lady Falcons, meanwhile, suffered their second loss in a row to settle for a similar 2-4 slate like the Blue Eagles.

The first two sets came relatively a breeze for Ateneo after repeating over Adamson for a two-set lead.

In the third set, however, trailing 12-20, Adamson unleashed perhaps one of the massive counter runs with a 13-2 fightback to stay alive and get back at Ateneo.

The Blue Eagles then evidently lost steam in the fourth set as they found themselves down 9-11, with the Lady Falcons carrying over the momentum from their huge comeback.

Slowly, though, Ateneo regained control with a 4-0 run capped by Taks Fujimoto’s service ace, 13-11.

Both squads engaged in a nip-and-tuck affair before Buena fired back-to-back crosscourt attacks that secured Ateneo’s much-needed second win.

Lucille Almonte, Ishie Lalongisip and Mayang Nuique all paced Adamson with a balanced scoring after finishing with 11 points each in the losing cause.

Ateneo and Adamson will end their first round campaigns this weekend against Far Eastern University and top seed and unbeaten University of Santo Tomas, respectively. — Nikole Javier