Ateneo flexed its muscle early, ripping San Sebastian, 25-19, 25-19, 25-14, in a rousing start to its V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge campaign at the Paco Arena in Manila on Wednesday.
Faith Nisperos unloaded 18 points off 11 attacks she laced with six aces and one block despite sitting out the second set of the Blue Eagles’ Pool A matchup with the Lady Stags that took 78 minutes to finish.
Vanie Gandler chipped in 14 points while Lyann de Guzman and Joan Narit added 10 and eight points, respectively, for the Loyola-based squad, which will next face Far Eastern U on Oct. 26.
After taking the first two sets in identical fashions, the Blue Eagles turned it up a notch higher in the next, unleashing an 11-1 run capped by Nisperos’ four straight aces for a huge 19-8 bulge.
De Guzman’s kill made it 22-10 before Gandler took over and closed out the match.
Kristine Dionisio fired 12 points while Tina Marasigan and Kamille Tan put in seven points apiece for the Lady Stags, who will clash with the Adamson Falcons next.
Meanwhile, Almadro also thanked the league for providing a venue where college teams could hone and sharpen up for their respective upcoming leagues.
“We thank the V-League for this opportunity. Lumalaki ang volleyball, kaya tumataas din ang level ng competition,” said Almadro. “Marami ding natutulungang players, who are able to fulfill their dreams by landing in good schools. So, malaking bagay talaga itong V-League, for us, for volleyball.”
