Blue Eagles soar past Red Warriors in UAAP men's volleyball opener

MANILA, Philippines -- The Ateneo Blue Eagles kicked off the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament with a win over the UE Red Warriors, 25-16, 22-25, 25-15, 25-14, Saturday morning at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Kennedy Batas erupted in the game, finishing with 22 points, 19 of which were attacks, as he was simply unstoppable.

After UE kept the fourth set interesting early on, the Blue Eagles started to heat up as they took a 17-8 lead in the deciding set.

Back-to-back points by Jhon Maglay and Joshua Pozas cut the lead to seven, 17-10, but a service error by Pozas gave Ateneo a 18-10 cushion.

Batas and Maglay then exchanged service errors, maintaining the Ateneo lead, 19-11.

A big block by Ryan Daculan pushed the advantage to nine anew, 20-11.

After a couple of errors by Ateneo, Nigerian Aimar Okeke punched in a down-the-line kill to move closer to the match point, 21-13.

After an off-the-block attack by John Paul Mangahis, Ateneo ended the match with four straight points capped by a Jan Mangulabnan service ace to grab the Blue Eagles’ first win of the season.

Jian Salarzon followed suit for Ateneo, finishing with 15 points off of 12 attacks, two blocks and an ace.

Okeke added 11.

Pozas had 13 points for UE as the lone Red Warrior in double-digits.

Next up for Ateneo is the NU Bulldogs on Saturday, February 24, at the same venue. UE, meanwhile, will face UST on Wednesday, February 21, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.