Facing her former school, National University, brought a wave of mixed emotions for rookie Kianne Olango, now an opposite spiker for a rebuilding University of the Philippines squad in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Shortly after the conclusion of the Season 86 Girls’ Volleyball Tournament, Olango, Best Middle Blocker Bienne Bansil, and outside hitter Yesha Noceja decided to leave Jhocson and take on a new challenge with the Fighting Maroons for their collegiate careers.
Meanwhile, their NUNS batchmates — two-time UAAP Girls’ Volleyball 2nd Best Outside Hitter Celine Marsh and Season 86 Best Libero IC Cepada — chose to stay with the Lady Bulldogs, who retained a solid championship core led by Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, and Camilla Lamina from their Season 86 title run.
In their first-ever collegiate match-up, Marsh and the Lady Bulldogs had the last laugh, cruising to a swift 25-13, 25-23, 25-22 sweep over Olango and UP. No longer teammates, they now found themselves on opposite sides of the net.
“Parang mixed emotions. May excitement, may konting kaba. Hindi ko rin talaga maiintindihan since nakakapanibago sa una,” said the 18-year-old Olango, who top-scored for the Fighting Maroons in their third straight loss with 10 points and two excellent digs.
“Pero eventually, kinailangan ko siya tanggapin kasi mangyayari at mangyayari naman siya. Proud lang ako sa careers namin, kahit sobrang iba kami ng landas.”
While they have taken different paths in their collegiate journeys — the back-to-back-seeking Lady Bulldogs versus an up-and-coming Fighting Maroons program — Olango remains proud of the growth of her former teammates.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Leaving the familiarity of National University, where they helped the Lady Bullpups win the Season 85 title and finish as runners-up in Season 86, was a tough decision. However, the lessons she shared with Marsh made the transition smoother.
“Champion team naman sila. Expected na ganito na yung performance nila, and nakikita ko na nakakasabay siya sa mga Ates nila. So doon, parang kita ko na yung growth nila kahit less than a year pa lang kami nagkaiba ng landas,” the 5-foot-8 spiker shared.
“Pagpatuloy lang nila yung pag-work hard. Mula noon, yan na yung greatest trait nila, na eventually, nadala ko na rin sa sarili ko mula nung time pa namin sa Lady Bullpups hanggang dito sa UP. We’ve learned so much from each other.”
Marsh echoed Olango’s sentiments, even admitting to feeling a mix of emotions in their first collegiate encounter.
Despite the “weird feeling,” Marsh expressed pride in Olango, Bansil, and Noceja for their bravery in leaving Jhocson to pursue their collegiate volleyball careers in Diliman.
“Yung feeling is parang nakakaiba kasi since high school, we’ve been playing for like two seasons. Pag nakikita ko sila sa kabilang court, ang weird ng feeling. I’m proud na rin sa kanila na nagkaroon sila ng opportunity to shine sa ibang school,” Marsh told Tiebreaker Times.
