CANDON, Ilocos Sur – Liao Yijen cherished the opportunity to once again face familiar opponents, as Chinese Taipei secured a semifinal-clinching victory over Alas Pilipinas in the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup on Thursday.
Liao found herself on the opposite side of the net anew against Creamline stars Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Kyle Negrito, whom she previously encountered during her brief stint in the Premier Volleyball League with her club team, KingWhale Taipei.
“Yes. I think Alyssa (Valdez) and (Tots) Carlos are very good players. Setter, number one (Kyle Negrito). In the PVL, we were always competing together. I always remember Alyssa, number one, and Carlos,” said the 29-year-old playmaker.
Her familiarity with Philippine volleyball dates back to KingWhale Taipei’s stint as a guest team in the 2022 PVL Invitational Conference. There, the Taiwanese squad swept through the semifinals with a 4-0 record before falling to the Cool Smashers in the championship match.
Back then, Carlos was named Conference Most Valuable Player, while Valdez took home Best Outside Hitter honors. Negrito served as a reliable backup to Jia De Guzman during Creamline’s championship run.
Liao also left her mark in that tournament, being hailed as the Best Setter of the Invitational Conference despite KingWhale Taipei settling for the runner-up finish.
Since then, Liao has grown fond of the Filipino crowd, expressing how much she enjoys the energy and passion of local fans and how glad she is to experience it once again — this time in front of 2,798 spectators at the Candon City Arena.
“And thank you, Philippines. This place is very heart, so I always play very happily in the Philippines because it’s very heart,” said the two-time Top Volleyball League Best Setter.
With Liao leading the way, Chinese Taipei dominated Alas Pilipinas, 25-16, 25-14, 25-10, to eliminate the host nation from semifinal contention in the tournament presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, FIVB, AVC, Volleyball World, and Candon City led by Mayor Eric Singson.
“The team today, the Taiwan team, everybody played very well, so thank you very much to the coach and my teammates,” Liao said.
“We’ll do our best.”
