ADMU Lady Blue Spikers

History

The Lady Blue Spikers formed in 1975. They first played competitive volleyball when they joined the NCAA (Philippines) in season 51 (1975–76). The following year, season 52 (1976–77), the Lady Blue Spikers won their first and only NCAA women's volleyball championship. They were unable to repeat as champions in the NCAA because Ateneo de Manila transferred to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The team did not win a championship for another 37 years. The team's first title in the UAAP came in season 76 (2013–14). They won the title again the following year, season 77 (2014–15).

In the UAAP, Ateneo has won two championships. These titles were won by the Lady Blue Spikers in Season 76 (2013–14) and Season 77 (2014–15), finally ending a title drought of more than 30 years in UAAP volleyball. Prior to their championships, the Lady Blue Spikers had six Final Four appearances (Season 70, 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76), with a second seed and twice-to-beat advantage in season 74 and 75. In season 72 (2009), the three Ateneo varsity volleyball teams -men's, women's and boys' were in the Final 4.

Sherwin Malonzo was appointed as the head of the volleyball program in 2008. In season 71 (2008–09), Roger Gorayeb was hired as head coach of the Lady Spikers. That same year, Ateneo began to recruit high school players. Five blue-chip high school players (Fille Cainglet, Jem Ferrer, Dzi Gervacio, Gretchen Ho and A Nacachi) were recruited. These players were later dubbed the Fabulous Five by the Ateneo community and fans. Another group of three high school players was recruited the following year. In 2010 Ateneo recruited UST high school volleyball player Alyssa Valdez , as well as 4 other high school players. Valdez was a national youth volleyball team standout, dubbed the "Phenom" by the sports press, and a three-time MVP in UAAP high school volleyball. . On January 20, 2013, she broke the UAAP volleyball record, by scoring 35 points (31 spikes, 3 blocks and 1 service ace) in the second round elimination game. Prior to her performance, the record had been 33 points, set by an Adamson player in February 14, 2009.

They won in Shakey's V-League, a summer tournament which the Ateneo Lady Blue Spikers uses as a preparation for the UAAP tournament,back in 2011. In the championship game, Rookie Alyssa Valdez was seen as having delivered a key performance for Ateneo. Her coach for this tournament, Charo Soriano, a former star Lady Blue Spikers herself, had this to say about the prized recruit: "She really pulled it through for us".

In UAAP season 74 (2011–12), the Lady Blue Spikers ended the elimination round with 11 wins in 14 games, their best elimination round record in 33 seasons in the UAAP. For the first time ever, they were seeded second in the Final 4 with a twice-to-beat advantage. The Lady Blue Spikers did not find it necessary to use this advantage as they beat their opponent, UST, in Game 1 of their Final 4 series. With this win, they advanced for the first time to the Finals and had the defending champion De La Salle as their opponent. La Salle swept the elimination round and thus had a thrice-to-beat advantage in the Finals. The Lady Blue Spikers have not won over La Salle in the last four years. This losing streak was broken when they won Game 1 of the Finals. This was La Salle's first and only loss of the season. This win put the Finals series on equal terms. Unfortunately, the Lady Spikers lost the next two games and their chance for their first UAAP championship. Other achievemnts from this season include beating Adamson and UST twice in a season, 13 wins in a season, winning a game in the Final 4 round, and having a rookie score 30 points in one game.

The Lady Blue Spikers were able to successfully defend their Shakey's V-League Season 8 1st Conference title. The Lady Blue Spikers defeated the UST Golden Tigresses in their Best-of-Three series in the Finals which made them a back-to-back champion team. Alyssa Valdez, who scored 31 points (22 Attacks 8 Service Aces 1 Block) in Game 2 of the Finals was named the MVP. She scored a total of 73 points in the Finals series (59 Attacks 11 Service Aces 3 Blocks). The Lady Blue Spikers garnered their second championship of the year 2012 when they won the 2012 Tuguegarao City Open Invitational held on June 24–30, 2012. They did not lose a single set on their way to claiming the championship and the Php500,000.00 top prize.

Head Coach Roger Gorayeb changed his recruitment strategy for Season 75 (2012–13) and he recruited only high school players who are college-play ready. Still, the Lady Blue Spikers fell short. They made it to the Finals for the second consecutive year. However, it was a replay of Season 74 as the Lady Blue Spikers again faced and were defeated by the De La Salle Lady Spikers in the Finals.

In their first tournament in 2013, the Shakey's V-League 10th Season 1st Conference, they failed to defend their crown as back-to-back champions when they lost to NU in the Finals. Shortly after the end of the tournament, Roger Gorayeb, head coach of the women's volleyball team since 2008, stepped down in July 2013. In an effort to sustain the gains made by the Lady Blue Spikers under the watch of Gorayeb, Ateneo hired Anusorn "Tai" Bundit as the women's volleyball team trainer in September 2013. Bundit was the coach of the National Women's Juniors volleyball team of Thailand.

On March 15, 2014, the Lady Blue Spikers won their first championship in the UAAP. For the third consecutive season, their opponent in the Finals was the De La Salle Lady Spikers. The Lady Blue Spikers, a third-seeded team, beat La Salle which swept all of their fourteen elimination round matches. They ended La Salle's three-year reign as champions and also ended La Salle's 30-game winning streak. They were the first non-top seed varsity team in the UAAP to win the championship through the league's postseason stepladder format. They had to win 5 do-or-die matches in the process - starting with 3 in the step-ladder Semifinals (first against fourth-seeded Adamson University Lady Falcons, and then against second-seeded National University Lady Bulldogs which had a twice-to-beat advantage) and 2 in the Finals against defending champion La Salle Lady Spikers. Team captain Alyssa Valdez was the Season and Finals Most Valuable Player, and also became the first ever UAAP athlete to win 4 awards in one season (which included Best Scorer and Best Server awards).

In December 2014, the collegiate women's varsity volleyball team of the Ateneo de Manila University, the Lady Blue Spikers represented the Philippines in the 17th ASEAN University Games in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. This is the first time that the Philippines was represented in the women's volleyball tournament of the ASEAN University Games. The Ateneo Lady Spikers won the bronze medal. This is the first medal finish in international women's volleyball competition for the Philippines since winning bronze in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.

In UAAP Season 77 (2014–15) the Lady Blue Spikers achieved a first when they swept the elimination round of Season 77, 14-0. This sweep means that the Ateneo Lady Spikers did not allow the La Salle Lady Spikers to win a single game against them in the elimination rounds, a first for the Ateneo Lady Spikers since UAAP Season 71. This sweep also earned the Ateneo Lady Spikers an automatic slot to the Finals for the first time with a thrice-to-beat advantage. They also swept their postseason games to become the first team in 11 seasons to complete an unbeaten campaign. Season 77 signaled the beginning of the success of the Ateneo volleyball program. All three varsity volleyball teams (men's, women's and juniors) of Ateneo in the UAAP were in the Finals. The women's volleyball team also won its second championship in Season 77 when they swept second-seeded De La Salle University in 2 straight matches (6 straight sets). The sweep achieved a 16-0 season record (elimination rounds to championship round), a first for any UAAP women varsity team in the Final Four era. Ateneo's recruitment program which is a key component of the volleyball program has been successful in recruiting highly prized players. Alyssa Valdez of the Lady Blue Spikers, who was products of this robust recruitment program, were back-to-back (Season 76 and 77) UAAP MVPs, while Rongomaipapa Amy Ahomiro of the Ateneo Lady Spikers was named Season 77 UAAP Finals MVPs. But, in UAAP Season 78 they became the League's Runner-Up they have lost to their archrival DLSU. In the Awarding Ceremony Alyssa Valdez claims her 3rd straight MVP Award, 4th straight Best Scorer award, and 3rd straight Best Server award. The Lady Eagles will try to reclaim their title on UAAP Season 79 many players will make a comeback like Michelle Morente, Ana Gopico and Kat Tolentino as well.

The Ateneo Lady Eagles Volleyball Team

The Lady Blue Spikers Recruits Class of 2016
The Rookies

Notable players