Lady Eagles missteps
It would be easy for the Lady Eagles to point to errant officiating as the reason behind their loss in Game One of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament finals. After all, they claimed the first set and led 2217 in the second before two wrong calls robbed them of momentum, evidently for good. Given the zero-sum nature of scoring, the outcome of the set — and the set-to itself — may well have been different had the arbiters exercised proper judgment during such a crucial stage.
That said, arguing that ill-advised rulings of match arbiters damaged the Lady Eagles’ cause the most is disingenuous at best. Considering the speed at which the sport is played and the intrinsically limited capacity of net and line judges to stay on top of the action, questionable whistles are inevitable and have, in fact, long been accepted as part and parcel of what sports habitues term “the breaks of the game.” And if the blue and white wound up being affected, the failing was ultimately theirs. To be fair, not a single Lady Eagle saw fit to use officiating as an excuse for their setback. In retrospect, they understood that they still had multiple chances to take the second set, and the contest, only to fail due to far more important factors. Certainly, they could not pin the blame for their myriad mistakes on the men in black. Of the aggregate 100 markers the Lady Spikers put on the board, 34 came off their errors. And then there were the repeatedly poor receptions that resulted in otherwise- avoidable scrambling and had them giving up free balls or, worse, points; it’s why their supposedly league-leading offense managed to produce just 38 kills off 139 spike attempts, a whopping 13 and 24 less than the opposition.
For the Lady Eagles, the silver lining is that they know how to combat, and overcome, adversity. Despite their missteps, they remain cognizant of their capacity to be collectively greater than the sum of their parts. And they do have positives to build on; among others, their net defense held up, and not for nothing were they still able to craft more excellent sets than the green and white despite the chaos around them.
Make no mistake: The Lady Eagles have their work cut out for them. If they aim to even the series, they would do well to improve floor coverage, service reception, and court balance. Else, they will have simply proven themselves skilled enough to place second anew, casting moist eyes on the hardware while the Lady Spikers celebrate a successful title defense.
For the Lady Eagles, the silver lining is that they know how to combat, and overcome, adversity. Despite their missteps, they remain cognizant of their capacity to be collectively greater than the sum of their parts. And they do have positives to build on; among others, their net defense held up, and not for nothing were they still able to craft more excellent sets than the green and white despite the chaos around them.