By Anjela Ferry

By Soleina Vasquez

The Ateneo Blue Eagles gave the audience a spark of hope as they spread their wings in the second set to soar neck-and-neck with Far Eastern University-Diliman, but even their fiery stand wasn’t enough to stop the Tamaraws from running away with the sweep.

The team fell short in their University Athletics Association of the Philippines Season 88 High School Boys’ Volleyball opener as the Tamaraws blanked them, 14-25, 19-25, 14-25 at the Blue Eagle Gym, Ateneo de Manila University today, September 21.

Xavier Castillo led Ateneo with 8 spikes and 2 blocks, Ethan Rivera chipped in with 4 kills, Ranidel De Ocampo, Jr. added 2 blocks and 2 serves, while Jaime Avila anchored the floor defense with 5 digs to keep the Blue Eagles alive through the rallies.

Edrielle Manlapaz dominated the court for FEU, erupting with 10 spikes and 2 receptions, Kenneth Maliwanag’s 9 spikes and 3 blocks kept Ateneo scrambling, and Tyler Ramos churned out 7 kills and 1 block.

FEU-D opened the first set with an 8-0 run for 13-5, establishing dominance with their towering blocks that also led to a few errors Ateneo capitalized on by trying to mount a chase with a 4-0 run from 6-14 to 9-14.

Manlapaz fired off his kills to reset the momentum, initiating another 5-0 run to widen the gap to 19-9, whereas Castillo pushed through FEU’s wall to delay set point at 13-23, but the Tamaraws slammed the door shut at 14-25.

“Our performance today was a clear improvement,” team co-captain Jaime Avila said.

The second set turned into Ateneo’s breakthrough as they went toe-to-toe with FEU-D for the first time this season through Castillo’s blocks and Avila’s digs, rallying a 3-0 run to flip the score 4-3 in Ateneo’s favor, sparking cheers from the Blue Eagle crowd.

Avila added that the entire second set stood out since Ateneo was able to match FEU-D point-for-point, something they could not do in past matches.

But Ramos came from behind to help Manlapaz retaliate with their cross-court kills, refusing to give Ateneo the upper hand as they ended the second set at 25-20.