After 788 days, collegiate volleyball will return.
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines has announced that its women’s volleyball tournament will begin on May 5.
The announcement came out during the joint press conference of the Commission on Higher Education and the league. Representing CHED was chairman Popoy De Vera while executive director Rebo Saguisag and season president Nong Calanog represented the UAAP.
The league though is still deliberating whether the student-athletes will still be in a bubble once the competition starts.
Calanog said the decision to have a closed circuit for the volleyball tournament will be decided in next week’s board meeting so that the women’s teams will be ready.
“We actually may consider going to a closed-circuit situation or set-up going into the volleyball tournament,” said Calanog.
CHED has said it no longer requires collegiate tournaments to hold their game in a bubble set-up.
The venue of the volleyball games and the schedule have yet to be revealed as well.
With the women’s volleyball tournament happening in the midst of the men’s basketball post-season, the schedule will be alternating between the two tilts with the basketball competition taking over the schedule of the Philippine Basketball Association.
The last time the UAAP held a volleyball game was back on March 8, 2020. The national government enforced a lockdown seven days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only seven women’s volleyball games happened during that season with National University going 2-0. La Salle and Adamson only played one game.
University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo de Manila University, Far Eastern University, and University of the Philippines were all 1-1 while University of the East was 0-2.
The men’s indoor volleyball tournament will not take place this season. The league has slated a men’s beach volleyball tournament.
