Ateneo capped its UAAP campaign with a convincing victory over Adamson, 25-13, 25-17, 25-21, in the Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday, April 24, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

The Blue Eagles ended their cause with a 5-9 slate to finish in fifth place in the standings. 

Unfortunately, Ateneo continued to miss the Final Four for back-to-back seasons now after 14 straight appearances prior to the slump. 

Fourth year outside hitter Lyann De Guzman showed the way for the Blue Eagles anew with 14 points all on kills.

De Guzman’s playing status, though, hangs in balance as she stays undecided if she will exhaust her final eligibility for the Katipunan squad. 

Meanwhile, graduating captain and Roma Doromal tallied six receptions and nine digs in her swan song for the Ateneo side. 

The Blue Eagles showed might from the start as they jumped to an easy two-set lead. 

However, the Lady Falcons were well within the third set as they went on a determined fightback for the last time, even leading the Blue Eagles by two midway through the game, 13-11. 

By the time Adamson regained full consciousness, though, things were already looking up for Ateneo as it maintained endgame composure to secure the much-needed win. 

“Everybody can see how our team played together within the system, consistently [in the second round]. Sometimes we committed mistakes but it’s part of the match,” said Ateneo head coach Sergio Veloso. 

“Nobody is a perfect player but the most important thing is how you play after those mistakes and [being in a] bad situation and never giving up. I think if the team continues with this mindset, we can play better next season.”

On the other side of the court, graduating wing spiker Lucille Almonte wound up with a dismal final match for Adamson after scoring only two points on nine attempts. 

No Adamson player found their scoring touch with Barbie Jamili, Red Bason and Mayang Nuique all finishing with four markers each in the nasty loss. 

Adamson slid further to 3-11 at the sixth spot of the bottom half of the standings.