POLITICAL SCIENCE (PolSci) started its title defense bid strong as it roasted Sociology in an intense two-set match, 25-14 and 25-20, on the opening day of the AB Sportsfest 2017 mixed volleyball tournament held Feb. 15 at the Felix Huertas Court.
Economics, Legal Management (LegMa), English Language Studies (ELS), and Behavioral Science (BES) earned opening day wins, giving them an instant advantage in their respective brackets, while Sociology recorded a 1-1 standing.
PolSci and Sociology started the first set with an early draw at 6-6 but PolSci’s Samantha Makayan broke the knot with a service ace, leading her team to a 5-0 run and a 13-7 advantage.
The teams continued to exchange spurts of 3-0 but PolSci finished the first set at 25-14 through a 5-0 run and a powerful spike unleashed by PolSci’s team captain Judenn Mascareñas.
Sociology dictated the pace in the second set. It had a 5-0 run that placed the score at 23-19 but PolSci continued to hold on to its fortune as Sociology failed to keep the ball on track, ending the set with 25-20.
“Once you step into that court, you should give it your all [and keep] that ‘never-say-die’ attitude always when playing. That to me […] will be the key of our team in reclaiming the crown once more,” Mascareñas told the Flame.
On its first game, Sociology grabbed its season’s first victory without breaking any sweat as History failed to make a complete team appearance during the game.
Raye Domique Pera, officer-in-charge for the tourney, said History was allotted five minutes to complete their roster, however, only two players showed up.
“‘Yung mga player ko kasi [ay] halos lahat [juniors. Tapos] may quiz sila sa subject na sumakto sa oras ng game, kaya hindi sila pwedeng mag-absent dahil hindi nagbibigay ng special quiz ‘yung [professor] nila. [Ako] naman medyo masama rin pakiramdam ko kaya di rin ako nakapunta,” History volleyball team captain Charles Adrian Vallo said.
Economics thrashed Asian Studies, easily sweeping two of the three sets of the game, 25-6 and 25-7.
Asian Studies opened the first set with multiple errors, rewarding Economics with a commanding 15-point gap, 3-18.
Struggling to stop their opponent’s growing lead, Asian Studies’ Frits Cantero, Cellyna Villan, Arianne Ocampo, and Ace Navarro tried to return Economics’ attacks in the second set.
However, service aces from Economics team captain Lloyd Santos put an end to the game, 25-7.
On the other hand, LegMa upset Journalism in a tight three-set matchup, 13-25, 25-19, and 15-9.
The journos started out strong, thanks to the forceful attacks of Ted Ortiz and Johnrick Dungca. Multiple errors from the players of LegMa gave Journalism a straight set win of 25-13 during the first set.
LegMa launched more strategic hits and blocks during the second set, resulting to a close match, 7-4, 11-10, and 19-11. Determined to bounce back in the game, Ivan Quiamco and Alpa Jambalos combined their efforts and earned LegMa’s second set victory.
Journalism’s reception and service errors gave LegMa a head start in the third set with an eight-point advantage in the crucial part of the match.
However, LegMa took advantage of Journalism’s weak short ball, which gave way for the team to own the third set, 15-9.
ELS and Asian Studies had a dicey match with 17-25 and 25-7 in the first and second sets, respectively. The two teams pushed to an intense 16-14 third set with ELS as the better team.
Asian Studies blasted an 8-0 run garnering a six-point advantage but ELS’ Abigail Eclipse launched a spike that stopped Asian Studies’ momentum at 13-18.
ELS was left at 17-25 due to errors while Asian Studies unloaded another 8-0 run.
The second set was a tough play for Asian Studies through ELS’ bombarding 15-0 run, collecting 18-2.
The service error of Asian Studies’ Ace Navarro ended the second set, which allowed ELS to get hold of their chance to win the set at 7-25.
During the third set, ELS denied Asian Studies its victory when Ryoma Tamayo finished the play with a toss in a fiery 16-14 match, loaded with a succession of exchanging runs.
BES dominated the court against Literature in a 25-16 and 25-12 straight-set sweep.
BES fired a 5-0 run giving them an eight-point advantage at 12-4, while Literature answered with a 4-0 and 5-0 run.
However, BES declined them the chance to back down as Literature committed an error finishing the first set at 25-16.
During the second set, the teams threw two consecutive 5-0 run garnering 8-22 but Literature’s multiple errors caused BES’ win at 12-25.
All volleyball teams will play their second and final matches on Feb. 17 to determine which teams will top their respective brackets. F KRYSTAL GAYLE R. DIGAY and MARIA EDEN T. DINO
