In many ways, Kat Tolentino is the perfect personification of Ateneo’s UAAP Season 80 Women’s Volleyball campaign.
Like her team, Tolentino started slow, barely averaging double-digits as the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles lost their first two games. Ateneo continued to show inconsistency, ending the first round at 4-3.
Since the second round started, last season’s runners-up have been totally dominant. The Lady Eagles have won all three of their second round match-ups, including victories over the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws and the National University Lady Bulldogs, the two teams that sent them to an 0-2 start.
And the 22-year-old’s rejuvenated play has been at the forefront, as she has averaged 14.0 points per contest during the last three matches.
The six-foot-three winger was most brilliant in Ateneo’s most recent victory, amassing a season-high 22 points in four sets against the University of the East Lady Warriors.
Ateneo’s co-captain admitted that she consciously made an effort to keep improving, as her team sorely needed more reliable scorers.
“I think for me, I started off slow in the first round.
“I kind of realized in the second round that I have to step up being one of the older girls, one of the seniors, I have to take a bigger role,” the soft-spoken open hitter expressed.
Sitting at a 7-3 record, the Lady Eagles are one win away from clinching a Final Four spot, which was their modest goal to start their season.
Now, Tolentino and the Lady Eagles are gunning for a seventh straight Finals appearance.
“I think our goal even from the beginning of the season is to reach the finals, of course. It’s no different now,” shared Tolentino, who is the SMART Sports Player of the Day.
“We’re still hoping to get to the finals.”
