UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball sneak-peek

HERE is no doubt that as soon as the UAAP basketball season ended, Filipino sports fans knew that volleyball would be the next under the spotlight comes February.

Although Ateneo ended its five-year championship drought defeating De La Salle earlier this month, most of the netizens expect the latter would get even in volleyball. We remember that last season, despite the Lady Eagles sweeping the Lady Spikers in the elimination round, the latter stunned everyone by bringing the crown to Taft Avenue in only two games.

Last week, I was able to discuss with some of my colleagues about which teams could possibly make it into the top 4. Even though we ended up mentioning the same three teams, we all agreed that the competition just gets tougher and tougher every year, and as we always say,

It’s too early to predict who’s taking the top four spots. Last year, at the beginning of the first round, teams like University of the Philippines and National University was showing a lot of promise. But by second round of the eliminations, these two fierce squads seemed to have lost their firepower and handed the last two spots in the final four to the UST Golden Tigreses and the FEU Lady Tamaraws. Season 79 was a year full of surprises. As I just mentioned earlier, a lot of people thought the Lady Eagles would claim the crown as they already triumphed over their archrivals, twice that is, in the elimination round, but they weren’t able to win a match in the finals series. Lesson learned: the championship round is a totally different ball game.

Here’s why Season 80 of the women’s volleyball tournament will be a roller coater ride: The revamped Lady Falcons, although falling short of their coaches’ expectations from last year’s debut, is sure to surprise everyone come February. Playing against them last year before the season started, I already saw a lot of potential. They were fast, agile and they kept their signature of

It felt that they experienced a kind of stage fright every time they stepped on the court. Fortunately, they were able to utilize their off-season as they joined the Premier Volleyball League eventually having a top four finish. They will also have reinforcements this season with spiker Eli Soyud and experienced setter Fen Emnas. Although this team had a lot of controversies that surrounded them during off-season, having Coach Tai under their belt would still make a difference. The Thai coach had always managed to bring the Lady Eagles to the championship round and we definitely wont be surprised if this year would be the same story. A lot of fans are worried about losing the prized letter in Jia Morado, but I believe that the team has ace spikers that would be able to adjust quickly to their new setter. Same as Ateneo’s dilemma, the Lady Spikers lost their MVP-setter Kim Fajardo, who is also one of the best servers in the league. This Taft-based squad would have no problem working with their young setter, as their arsenal is still intact with last year’s MVP Majoy Baron, Kiana Dy and best libero Dawn Macandili. Add the fact that they have the most solid championship experience under their belt with one of he best coaches ad trainers in the country, there will be no surprise if La Salle will land in the final four. These two teams would also make the race to the semis a tough one, as they are two of the eight teams that hold an intact line up. These two squads also had a top four finish last season and would surely maintain or better yet, aim to get a higher place finish this year. They also have players in their roster that were able to play in club leagues during off-season, which will definitely bring the competition to a higher level. Both have towering skippers and solid defenders in Sisi Rondina (UST) and Bernadette Pons (FEU) who has the leadership quality that everyone looks up to. Speaking of having an intact lineup, this team would probably have the most senior roster among all UAAP teams. Led by the 6-foot-4 spiker Jaja Santiago, the Lady Bulldogs are expected to unleash their potential and land a spot in the final four. They also have a new coach this season in Babes Castillo who had already pushed them into winning the championship crown in the collegiate conference on the PVL earlier this year. Under the tutelage of coach Francis Vicente, this team would definitely rise to the competition. UE has a roster of powerful gusty players. With Rose Baliton being developed as their towering setter from last year, it is no doubt that she would make surprises this coming season. Some of the girls were able to train in the national team training pool that could give them the confidence and the edge this year. Last but definitely not the least, the Lady Maroons are set to put up a good fight this season. Having a young line up, they have proven to us how that isn’t a setback in the pool of experienced players. New coach Godfrey Okumu, a Kenyan national was one of the trainers that the previous team had when they went to Japan in preparation for last year’s season. Led by ace hitters Isa Mood and Tiots Carlos, there will definitely be no surprises on how strong and agile these ladies will be on the hard court.

The UAAP Season 80 Women’s Volleyball Tournament is set to start on February 3 at MOA Arena with Adamson vs NU colliding at 2 p.m. and La Salle taking on UST at 4 p.m.