NCAA women’s volleyball powerhouse San Sebastian College are at it again, as they are one win away from another elimination round sweep.
At the forefront of the limelight is none other than the Iron Lady, team skipper Gretchel Soltones, who is once again one of the top scorers in the league.
The graduating captain has tallied 116 points so far, off 108 attacks, two blocks, and six service aces. Soltones is also the league leader in attack percentage at 45.57 percent.
However, despite the numbers, Soltones feels that she has yet to reach her peak this season.
“Hindi pa po, hindi pa po,” she quickly dismissed.
“Kulang pa po talaga, kulang pa yung peak ko sa laro ko kasi parating sinasabi ni coach na, ‘Ito yung gawin mo, ganyan.’ So talagang may babaguhin ka pa.”
The 21-year-old believes that she needs to be more mature and smart on the court to tactically fight her way during battles. Thus, it is not surprising that the reigning back-to-back Most Valuable Player is not expecting to cop her third straight at this point of the competition, emphasizing that she only wants the one thing that has eluded her: an NCAA indoor championship.
“Hindi na po ako nag-e-expect sa mga ganyan. Kung meron, thank you. Kung wala, thank you rin,” shared Soltones, who won her first V-League MVP tiara during the off-season.
“Gusto kong magchampion. Wala na kong paki sa individual awards. Gusto ko, bago ko umalis, makuha namin yung korona.”
In her previous interviews, the Lady Stags captain always said that her team is still a “work in progress.” Now in the late stages of the tourney, the team captain feels that her team is now getting there.
“Sa ngayon lang, siguro, pumayat yung bawat isa,” she quipped.
She continued, more serious this time, “Okay lang din naman yung laro namin. Siguro, mas focused lang kami ngayon. Medyo OK na yung pag-uusap namin. Tinatry namin kung paano, i-e-enhance pa lalo.”
Such focus is evident in how San Sebastian recently crushed fellow huge volleyball powerhouse Perpetual in straight sets. The game showed how the Lady Stags want to bring the crown back to their fold, as they have all the motivation to do so.
“Si coach Roger, para maibalik namin lahat ng tinuro niya sa amin. Lalo na ko, patapos na ko and tatay-tatayan ko yan,” she said about her mentor. At least, maibalik ko yung tinuro niya sa kin … maibalik ko sa kanya ng maayos.”
Secondly, the squad might lose up to three key players after the season. Aside from the outside hitter, middle blocker Kat Villegas and possibly setter Vira Guillema will be hanging their red-and-gold jerseys at the end of the tournament.
Soltones and the rest of the seniors are taking it all in stride. “It’s now or never. Do your best lang in every game. Ganun naman parati eh.”
“Inaamin ko may pressure, pero naha-handle naman namin as a veteran.”
Having been in a similar situation in the previous year, the Lady Stags have learned their lesson.
“We’ll play as one lang. Nagyayari kasi last year, we play for ourselves lang, lack of communication, and pinaka[-kulang] is yung tapang and yung buong puso sa paglalaro,” she shared.
“Ipaglalaban namin ito hangga’t kaya.”
