Nearly every volleyball team in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines has either trained overseas or is currently abroad as part of their preparation for the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Volleyball Tournaments, set to open on February 15 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
(C) UST Golden Squad
University of Santo Tomas, fresh off runner-up finishes in both the men’s and women’s divisions, sent its squads to Japan to train with various university teams.
(C) NU Bulldogs
Joining UST in Japan are defending men’s champions National University and the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ men’s and women’s teams.
(C) Ateneo Volleyball
The Blue Eagles also had the unique opportunity to train alongside Ateneo legends Marck Espejo of the Kubota Spears Osaka and Jia De Guzman of the Denso Airybees.
(C) FEU Volleyball
Meanwhile, the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws headed to Thailand, with head coach Tina Salak collaborating with her close friend, Thai volleyball icon Pleumjit Thinkaow, to optimize the team’s training itinerary.
(C) Inspire Sports Academy
The Tamaraws, fresh from their triumph in the V-League and Spikers’ Turf tournaments, opted to set up camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna.
(C) Akari Sports
The Adamson Lady Falcons are in Taiwan, supported by team booster Akari, while other UAAP squads had already completed their overseas training camps earlier in the off-season.
Reigning women’s champion NU arguably had the most extensive international exposure.
(C) AVC
The Lady Bulldogs competed in the 2024 VTV International Women’s Volleyball Cup in Vietnam last August before representing the Philippines in the prestigious 2024 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in Thailand.
(C) DLSU Lady Spikers
The De La Salle University Lady Spikers participated in the Taichung Bank Formosa Women’s Volleyball Club Invitationals in Taiwan last September.
(C) Strong Group Athletics
The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons and the University of the East Lady Warriors both benefited from a month-long training camp in Japan last June, sponsored by Strong Group.
However, UE recently suffered a blow to its roster with the departure of key players Casiey Dongallo, Jelai Gajero, Kizzie Madriaga, and Jenalyn Umayam, who transferred to UP earlier this month.
