Team
Last season’s tandem of Kim Gequillana and Michelle Morente finished fourth place after losing to the De La Salle University Lady Spikers in back-to-back matches. Coach Sherwin Meneses, who has been given the reigns of coaching the Women’s Beach Volleyball team, hopes to address last season’s problem of lack of training.
Team Captain
Kim Gequillana
Indoor volleyball service specialist Kim Gequillana now takes on the mantle of captain for the lady beach spikers. Being the only player on the team with experience playing University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Beach Volleyball, her experience, leadership, and killer serve are valuable assets to the team.
“Based from my experience, it will be tough [to adjust to beach volleyball since] there are different rules in beach volley and indoor, so it’s hard to adjust.”
Bea de Leon
Five-foot-eleven middle hitter Bea de Leon will be lending her services to the beach volleyball team this season. The beach volleyball first-timer and former national team member will be adding her spiking and blocking powers to bolster the team’s attempt at the crown. Her main task is to support and complement Gequillana on the beach.
Ana Gopico
Palarong Pambansa 2013 Volleyball champion Ana Gopico will be playing on the sand for the first time in her career. The middle blocker will be spiking and blocking alongside de Leon, facing the challenge of acclimatizing to the new rules on the sand.
Coach’s Corner
Sherwin Meneses
After a successful stint as assistant coach of the indoor team, coach Sherwin Meneses hopes to either maintain or improve the team’s position in the Final Four. The former Adamson head coach hopes to give his beach volleyball rookies enough experience to excel on the sand.
“We’ll try advance to the Final Four, but we’ll be focusing on training for now.”
