Just a few months ago, the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles were locked in a heated battle with the De La Salle University Lady Spikers for a UAAP championship. Both teams were playing the best volleyball the league had ever seen; skills and desire on tilt.
Which is why it’s baffling to see the current iteration of the Lady Eagles struggle in the Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference. Usually a picture of quickness and precision, the Lady Eagles have been sloppy.
Ateneo is not only trying to find their way through the post-Alyssa Valdez era, they have also been dealing with injuries to star hitter Jho Maraguinot and Maddie Madayag. Moreover, several players have thrust into new, more demanding roles.
For Jia Morado, the team’s splendid setter for the past three years, her role has stayed the same; find holes in the opposing defense, trigger Ateneo’s fast offense, and defend her zone.
But a setter can only be as good as her spikers. Morado insists that everyone needs to be patient with the Lady Eagles as they find their way.
“We have to accept the fact first that we are a young team. Maraming nawala so this is really a rebuilding team.”
“Ngayon lang din kami na-expose ng ganito so it’s gonna take time for us to gel,” the UAAP Season 77 Best Setter said.
“Kami mismo walang expectations so it would be good also if fans didn’t expect too much from us other than us trying our best on the court,” she furthered.
“It may not look like our best but we are really going to try our best to win every game.”
There have been a lot of shifts in the Ateneo lineup with the departure of Valdez and middle hitter Amy Ahomiro. Ateneo has a wealth of middle hitters but not a lot of options in the wings especially with Maraguinot sitting out indefinitely.
A one-time Best Blocker in the UAAP Juniors Division, Pauline Gaston has been converted to an open hitter, leading to several adjustments especially on reception and floor defense.
Returning players Ana Gopico, who suffered an ACL injury during UAAP 76, and Michelle Morente, who missed UAAP 78 due to academic deficiencies, have both looked far from the shape they were in when they last played.
All these changes dominoed to a disheartening start in the Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference. Ateneo surrendered 52 errors en route to a five-set loss to the TIP Lady Engineers. They then blew a 23-10 lead in the third set against the San Sebastian Lady Stags, succumbing in straight sets.
“Siguro ang problem is hindi namin nadadala sa court ‘yung nagagawa namin sa training kasi during trainings, okay naman. Siguro we just have to stop pressuring ourselves and remind ourselves to just have fun and take it one point at a time,” the 21 year old continued.
“As the setter, it’s on me to make the most of what we have and I think the people on the team has what it takes to be great. Kailangan lang talaga ng more experience and more exposure to certain situations.”
In a tough Group A, Ateneo has a bleak chance of making it to the next round with UAAP rivals and group leader National University Lady Bulldogs and NCAA powerhouse University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Lady Altas left on their schedule.
For this tough stretch, Morado had a familiar reply and mindset. It remains to be seen if they will produce familiar results.
“We’re just going to take it one set, one point at a time and work hard every game and every training. We’re not going to think about the next round as long as we keep doing our best,” she closed.
