De La Salle University bid goodbye to three key players after reigning in the UAAP Season 85 Women’s Volleyball Finals.
Apart from the graduation of Mars Alba and Jolina Dela Cruz, Fifi Sharma recently inked a deal with Akari in the Premier Volleyball League.
Thea Gagate, Justine Jazareno, Angel Canino, Alleiah Malaluan, Shevana Laput, and newly inducted team captain Julia Coronel remain with the Lady Spikers.
With over 10 rookies in their lineup for the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals, Coronel looks to mold La Salle’s rookies for their UAAP title defense.
Some of their key freshmen led by middle blocker Katrina Del Castillo delivered during their sweep of University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, 25-11, 25-17, 25-12, on Saturday afternoon at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
“At this point, I think everyone is still trying to adjust since kakastart lang din po talaga namin. And in terms of yung rookies namin, what I’m trying to do is to build a bond with all of them para mas makilala ko rin sila and ma-gain ko rin yung trust nila para rin po namin yung connection and trust to each other inside the court,” said Coronel, who scored six points built on four aces in the third set.
“Ngayon po mas malaki na talaga yung role na kailangan ko gampanan, and so far, I’m working para mas mapanindigan ko po yun and syempre patuloy lang din po ako mag-improve para mas madala ko yung team and mas madala ko yung sarili ko,” she added.
Acting head coach Noel Orcullo, however, admitted that the Lady Spikers’ rookie-laden team still needs to put in the time and effort to achieve the chemistry, trust, and gameplay needed in their hunt for a title in the Shakey’s and ACES-organized league.
Orcullo pointed out La Salle’s lack of communication and connection on the court that led to some key service errors in their first-set domination of Perpetual.
“Kung ano pa rin yung game plan namin, execute lang, although marami pa kami nakikitang lapses. Actually, nung first set ang dami eh, yung mga service error, apat yung service error namin, ang score ng kalaban 11. Ang laki ng errors namin, tapos pinupuntos pa ng kalaban. So yun nga pinaalala ko sa kanila, na gayahin niyo sila na gumagawa ng puntos, tapos hindi tayo nagbibigay ng puntos para sa kanila,” shared Orcullo.
“Marami pa kailangan idagdag and i-improve. Yung connection pa rin, actually connection may mga times na nawawalan sila ng connection so yun lang yung mga pinaalala ko sa kanila, na usual lang din naman na sa training, ganoon din yung pinaparating ko sa kanila,” he concluded. (Ernest Martin Tuazon)
