FOR TWO consecutive years now, the Ateneo Lady Spikers have fallen short in the championship round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) competition against De La Salle University (DLSU).

After their loss in Season 74, the squad went into last season’s competition wanting nothing more than to seize the title and dethrone the powerhouse team of DLSU. But once again they were denied the ultimate prize.

Season 76 will hopefully be a different story. The women’s volleyball team has gone through an overhaul in terms of manpower, and new faces dominate this year’s squad both on the court and along the sidelines. As they go through this transitional stage, the members of the Ateneo Lady Spikers are striving to establish a new identity that will enable them to emerge as champions.

Five out, five in

This year’s UAAP women’s volleyball tournament marks the first time in five years that the team’s “Fab Five” will no longer suit up for the Blue and White. Veterans Fille Cainglet, Jem Ferrer, Dzi Gervacio, Gretchen Ho and Aillysse Nacachi are all out of the lineup after graduating last March.

The hole left by last year’s core players will hopefully be filled by the five additions to the squad, namely Kim Gequillana, Ana Gopico, Jamie Lavitoria, Julia Morado and Michelle Morente.

These rookies are considered some of the strongest recruits Ateneo has had in several years. Gequillana played for the Palarong Pambansa Western Visayas division while Michelle Morente is among those selected to represent the Philippines in the South East Asian (SEA) Games this December. Ana Gopico and Julia Morado were both high school standouts in Colegio San Agustin, excelling in the blocker and setter positions, respectively.

Gopico has also won several awards. She was dubbed the best spiker in the Milo Women’s Volleyball League for 2011 and 2013.  She also received the best blocker and most valuable player awards in the 2012 Palarong Pambansa.

Morado, on the other hand, has won the best setter award in the 2011 National Capital Region Volleyball meet, 2012 Milo Women’s Volleyball Leauge, 2012 Shakey’s Girls’ Volleyball League and 2012. With such a well-decorated career at such a young age, Morado is more than capable of following in the footsteps of three-time UAAP best setter Jem Ferrer.

The abundance of fresh talent is one of the team’s primary assets, especially because many of the new players are part of the team’s starting six. Team Captain Alyssa Valdez believes that there exists a healthy competition among the rookies that pushes them to give their best in training and practice games. “I think that all of them are equally hungry for the win and are equally excellent in their respective positions, and this makes the season much more exciting and promising,” shares Valdez.

Last season’s rookie standout Marge Tejada points out that being a rookie can be difficult, not because of inexperience, but because of the constant pressure to perform well. “The pressure to do well during games was what made it hard for me last year. While the veterans were known for their past performances, I felt like I had yet to prove myself in the court,” she says.

This may very well be the feeling of this year’s rookies, but the team veterans are confident that they will have little problem adapting and contributing to this year’s campaign.

Coaching carousel

The Fab Five of the Lady Spikers were not the only ones who exited the playing field. This year, former Head Coach Roger Gorayeb will no longer be patrolling the sidelines. Instead, the team will be led by Coach Parley Tupaz, who served as an assistant coach for the past three years, and newly hired Coach Anusorn “Tai” Bundit who previously served as the mentor for the Thailand juniors national team.

As with any situation that involves change, the squad initially found it difficult to adjust to the coaching style of their new trainers. While they were trained to have a killer instinct under Coach Roger, they are now expected to have the heart to fight and the mentality to focus during games. The new coaches do this by requiring rigorous training every day that is meant to sharpen the team’s game play, motivating them to push harder and go beyond their limits.

Although the change of coaches did require the athletes to adjust, the team recognizes that their former and new trainers essentially preach the same thing: Push harder.

“Heart strong.” These are the words that resound in each player’s mind whenever they are inside the court. It is a phrase Coach Tai constantly shouts to the athletes in order to motivate them to push harder and exert more effort during games.

“Whenever we feel tired during drills or down because of our game, he would always shout ‘Heart strong! Heart strong!’ and we would immediately understand that he wants us to try harder,” Valdez says.

Preparations

Aside from daily training, the Lady Spikers also attended a training camp in Bangkok, Thailand from October 28 to November 2 to prepare for the Season 76 tournament.

Because it was held abroad and during the semestral break, the team was able to do away with elements that may have hindered them from fully focusing on their sport. Aside from not having academic requirements to worry about, the players also said that there was no temptation to relax in malls or in recreational places because they were in an unfamiliar place and had nowhere else to go.

This was not the first time that the team went to Thailand for training. This year’s trip, however, saw the squad matched up against Thai high school volleyball teams and clubs. It was something that the team admittedly found quite challenging. “Thailand is the top country in terms of volleyball, therefore the players were very competent. Playing with Thai people really gave us more insight to the game,” says Valdez.

New beginning

After going through a coaching change, roster turnover and a training camp abroad, the team is now set to begin yet another campaign of UAAP volleyball. What they can identify as their greatest strength against other teams this season is their enjoyment of the game and the heart to push harder.

“Volleyball competitions tend to become very serious at some point, but I think that the team tries to focus more on the love for the game so that we can enjoy it and focus more on playing the sport itself and not merely winning the tournament,” says Valdez.

With Valdez leading the charge alongside veterans Amy Ahomiro, Bea Tan, Dennise Lazaro and Ella De Jesus, the game plan for the season is to focus on one game at a time as the young squad tries to grow together and usher in a new era of Ateneo Women’s Volleyball.