Dawn Macandili downplays rivalry with Kath Arado

In volleyball, for liberos to be considered superstars, they have to be truly transcendent. As they never score, the impact of liberos are often overlooked for the gaudier scoring stats of spikers.

In the UAAP, however, both the De La Salle University Lady Spikers and the University of the East Lady Warriors can boast of a libero being their best player. This was front and center, as UE’s Kath Arado and La Salle’s Dawn Macandili flew around the court in their match on Saturday afternoon.

In the end, La Salle scored an easy win and clinched their 10th straight post-season berth while UE slumped to last place at 2-9.

Still, both liberos were incredible.

Arado put up 15 digs and 11 excellent receptions on incredible efficiency, while Macandili tallied 19 digs. The only reason Macandili didn’t have as many receptions was La Salle’s dominance — they were serving most of the time.

The 21-year-old defensive specialist downplayed the match-up, insisting her motivation and intensity never wavers, no matter who La Salle face.

“Every game naman, I just focus on how to help the team; kung paano mas maging magaan sa loob for the team and paano ko sila bubuhatin sa loob as one of the seniors,” mused Asia’s second best libero.

“Siguro ngayon, same as any game naman. Gagawin mo ‘yung lahat na matulungan ‘yung team na manalo.”

Macandili also has no qualms about possibly losing out on awards due to Arado’s incredible campaign so far. Currently, the Lady Warriors lead the league in both digging and reception.

“Nakikita ko rin ‘yan online, sa social media. It doesn’t really bother me kasi ang importante is ‘yung result ng team,” the 5-foot Lady Spiker emphasized.

“And hindi ko naman masyadong fino-focus ‘yung individual awards kasi, kung makakuha man ako edi okay, thank you. Pero, kung ‘di ako makakuha, okay lang basta makuha namin ‘yung championship.”