As one of only two women head coaches in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Volleyball Tournaments, Regine Diego hopes to make the most of the platform she is on.
Diego is in a special position as the head coach of back-to-back women’s volleyball champion National University, and she aims to inspire others to embrace their womanhood and recognize that they are capable of achieving remarkable things.
The Lady Bulldogs mentor shared her thoughts on International Women’s Day after their 25-18, 25-18, 25-15 win over Ateneo de Manila University at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It’s not easy to be a woman in this country. And it’s harder to be in a male-dominated industry, but I was put here by God because I have a purpose here,” said Diego, who returned to UAAP head coaching after leading the Lady Bullpups to a Season 82 tournament sweep.
“So as much as I can, I’m here to share whatever I know, whatever I learn along the way, and hopefully we get to inspire not just women but everybody who understands and who can accept that women can be one of the best everywhere,” she continued.
The only other female head coach in the UAAP collegiate volleyball divisions is Tina Salak of Far Eastern University.
Diego also hopes that more women tacticians rise to head coaching positions in the future.
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
“We’re just happy to be here on this platform, in this arena, to represent a lot of women, and hopefully, more women can be up here with me and with all of us. Hopefully, we get to inspire more women, children, and everyone of all colors, of all genders. We can do it as long as we do our best,” said Diego.
Diego’s Lady Bulldogs have impressed in the first round of the tournament and are currently 5-1, with their lone loss a five-set defeat to the UP Fighting Maroons.
For Diego, the key to the NU formula is that every one of the 16 players can contribute whenever their number is called.
Take, for example, how Celine Marsh stepped up when Sam Cantada sat out their game against the University of the East to rest a right shin injury.
“We’re doing our best every day, and we’re happy kasi everybody can play well whenever we need them. We can’t focus so much on individual skills; we have to work together talaga. It doesn’t matter who goes in as long as we play together, then that’s what’s more important,” said Diego.
“It doesn’t matter who’s inside — the point is we have to play together all the time. So I’m happy and lucky to have these girls with me who are very capable and supportive of each other, and hopefully we get to improve every game.”
#WATCH: IT’S NOT EASY TO BE A WOMAN IN THIS COUNTRY 🐶
Regine Diego hopes that she can inspire more girls to go into coaching, especially in the sport of volleyball 🏐 #ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/q0M0G1QWdx
📹 @justinvalencia_ / Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/RGMBihMu0b
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 8, 2026
