Marck Espejo
A ROOKIE is expected to follow in the footsteps of his veteran teammates. Hopefully, he will be influenced by the skills and the admirable work ethic of those who preceded him.
However, interdisciplinary studies freshman Marck Espejo of the volleyball team may already have gotten a head start.
Pre-season noise
In October, the Ateneo Blue Spikers competed in the annual University Games. While the team didn’t place, Espejo’s outstanding performance had social media buzzing. The moniker “phenom” was thrown around, and many suggested that the male counterpart of Lady Spiker Alyssa Valdez had been found.
Espejo stands at six feet, two inches and has the athleticism to overpower his opponents.
His high leaping ability gives him an advantage, especially when he’s on the attack.
Arguably one of the top recruits in this season’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), Espejo already has the responsibility of carrying the scoring load for the team. Fellow rookie and current beach spiker Jeriel Apelar shares, “He’s our leading scorer and our go-to guy.”
With the combination of height and explosiveness, Espejo has the potential to be one of the greats. “No doubt he’s going to be one of UAAP’s best attackers. And I mean this year,” Apelar emphasizes.
Work in progress
Despite his stellar performance, Espejo claims that he’s still getting used to the pace of the collegiate level. “At first it was difficult for me because, coming from a public school, I am not used to this kind of environment,” he says. “It took me a while to adjust but I’m doing okay now.”
The transition from the high school level of competition to the college ranks is tough and Espejo is aware of that. He shares that he easily gets frustrated, acknowledging this as a setback to his game. Given that he can easily dominate on pure talent, his mental toughness must be stable and consistent enough for him to deliver. But Espejo believes that this isn’t a challenge he has to face on his own.
“Volleyball, being a team sport, is about communicating and working together. I can overcome this weakness with the help of my teammates,” he says.
Apelar adds, “As gifted and talented he is, he still has to learn how to carry a team to get a W. I think that’s just through experience.”
Bright future
Aside from his natural ability, his work ethic is also quite commendable. According to his teammate Karl Baysa, “Marck gives his all in the games we play in and is always game on.”
Without a doubt, Espejo is an athlete to look out for. As Baysa boldly predicts, “He’s a great contender for this year’s UAAP rookie of the year.”
At the end of the day, Espejo pushes himself to his limit because of his loyalty to the school. “My biggest motivation to give it my all is to play for Ateneo. Only a few select are given the opportunity to represent this prestigious institution and I am lucky and thankful to be a part of it.”
Photo by Isabella L. Yatco
Julia Morado
A TEAR in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of sporting world’s most dreaded injuries. The acronym alone strikes fear in every athlete. An athlete with a torn ACL usually undergoes surgery, then has to recover for a whole year. It’s usually considered a career-ending injury.
But Lady Spikers rookie psychology freshman Julia Morado counters this belief. She has proven that no injury can stand in the way for her love of her sport.
Morado injured her left knee just last February, yet she’s already on the court and ready to give it her all. “When I got injured, they told me, ‘When you get injured with ACL, you’ll come back stronger.’ So I used that as my motivation. Ayaw ko mawala yung volleyball sa buhay ko so nagtiyaga ako sa therapy (I didn’t want volleyball out of my life so I powered through my therapy).”
Promising setter
Morado is the younger sister of former Lady Spiker Jessica Morado, the one who convinced the younger Morado to pursue volleyball herself.
Morado shares that she fell in love with the sport: Volleyball was her escape and outlet for stress. “It’s something that keeps me sane and going,” she says.
It didn’t take long for her to career to take off. Throughout high school, the Colegio San Agustin alumna received multiple athletic awards, including Best Setter in the 2012 Palarong Pambansa.
As tough a player as she was in high school, she knew that the transition to the college ranks would not be easy. “In high school, not everyone is fully developed. When you get to college, everyone playing is developed. There’s no weak team so you have to step up your game all the time,” she says.
The setter admits that there are key points in her own game that she needs to improve on. “I have to learn how to not panic and keep my composure, especially at the most crucial times,” she says. “I have to learn how to vary my play, in order to make the spikers’ lives easier and give my opponents a harder time,” she adds.
But with the recent training the team went through in Thailand, along with the number of years she still has ahead of her, it’s not doubt that Morado will soon gain enough experience to find her niche in the league.
Key to the rebuilding phase
Morado is one of the several stellar rookies the Lady Spikers have for this season. With the “Fab 5” composed of Gretchen Ho, Fille Cainglet, Angeline Gervacio, Jem Ferrer and Aillyse Nacachi gone, the team will enter the tournament with a brand new core. As team captain Alyssa Valdez says, “Lahat sila may potential.”
Morado has been given the role of replacing Ferrer in the starting line-up. Ferrer is known to have mastered the position of the facilitator, and it’s now up to Morado and fellow setter Gizelle Tan to carry the load of distributing the ball to their teammates.
While this will be no easy feat, Morado understands her role. She says in a mix of Filipino and English, “I still have a lot to learn. Everything that was taught to me, I’ll do it in the game and I’ll definitely do my best.”
