High-flying American Lindsay Stalzer has been all over the world, but she’s always come back to the Philippines.
She’s had two runs in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix, winning a championship and an MVP award while donning the blue and white of Foton.
This year, Stalzer was given the opportunity to wear the red, white, and blue of the Philippines as she was brought back to bolster Foton Pilipinas in their campaign in the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship and she couldn’t be prouder.
“It’s really cool. It’s quite an honor for a country to ask you to represent their country in such a big tournament. I’m proud but a little upset that I didn’t get to play more,” Stalzer told Tiebreaker Times.
She suited up for Foton’s first match – a win against Pocari Sweat of Hong Kong – but back spasms kept her out of their next two matches, both losses.
“It was rough. I hate sitting out especially when I know I could have changed the outcome like in that Vietnam game,” Stalzer expressed.
She was listed as day-to-day and her inclusion had still been questionable before their match against Altay VC of Kazakstan earlier today.
“An hour before the game, I didn’t even know if she was going to be available,” said Foton head coach Fabio Menta.
“I didn’t either,” Stalzer recalled, talking to the doctors. “They (doctors) told me I couldn’t play and then they said it was up to me. So then I decided I was going to warm up and see how it feels. I felt good so I played.”
Stalzer made a huge a difference, scoring 11 points and keeping Foton within striking strange of Altay VC. But the Kazakhs still got the best of the Pinays.
“Today, it feels so much better. The other day, I couldn’t really walk. I’ve had lower back pains in the past, but never a spasm,” Stalzer relayed.
“If we had everyone at a hundred percent we could’ve been a lot more competitive in this tournament. And if we could have had more time to practice together. It’s been tough trying to get everyone in the same gym together,” she continued.
“But then this was a really awesome warm-up for the Grand Prix. I think we should be a really strong team for that.”
Growing up, volleyball hadn’t been Stalzer’s first sport. She had been playing basketball and competing in track meets before picking up the sport in Junior High.
She was a late recruit for the University of Illinois, where she developed most of her skills. After college, she never got a chance to tryout for the U.S. National Team.
The US is a fixture in the Top 5 of the FIVB World Rankings with their rigid program that starts at the grassroots level.
Having picked up the sport late, there is some regret that she never got into the program, but she is still satisfied with where she is in her career.
“I kind of came to the realization that I wasn’t going to play for the very top teams in the world. So the experience of playing in different parts of the world became more important.
“I still got a chance to play at very high levels,” she reflected.
“I was at a point where I thought I was improving each year. Now, it’s kind of at a point that I don’t want to do the long, gruelling European seasons so I just came to Asia and do the shorter seasons.”
