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UAAP women’s volleyball: Second round forecasts

Noel Zarate

What a wind up to finish the first round, right guys? That FEU-UST match looked like it was going the distance as well, but somehow Gyzelle Sy and Rosemarie Vargas willed the Lady Tamaraws to a hard earned victory. UST badly needed the full services of Maruja Banaticla but Judy Ann Caballejo and Maika Ortiz did their best to carry the team, losing steam in the end.

Now that we look forward to Wednesday’s kick-off to the second round, let’s look at some pertinent numbers registered by the volleybelles in the initial salvos and see if we can spot a trend. Ateneo and DLSU did well, but do you get the feeling that UST, Adamson, NU and FEU will make it interesting in the second round? Here we go.

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Team standings:

DLSU 6-1

AdMU 6-1

NU 4-3

AdU 4-3

UST 4-3

FEU 3-4

UP 1-6

UE 0-7

Individual Scoring Leaders:

  1. ALYSSA VALDEZ (AdMU)—154 points

  2. DIN-DIN SANTIAGO (NU)—125

  3. MYLA PABLO (NU)—114

  4. PAU SORIANO (AdU)—114

  5. ROSEMARIE VARGAS (FEU)—98

  6. SHEILA PINEDA (AdU)—91

  7. FILLE CAINGLET (AdMU)—88

  8. JUDY ANN CABALLEJO (UST)—82

  9. MAIKA ORTIZ (UST)—82

  10. ARA GALANG (DLSU)—77

Individual Setting Leaders:

  1. JEM FERRER (AdMU)—7.34 (Successful Set Average per Match or SSA/M)

  2. GYZELLE SY (FEU)—6.83

  3. MAY MACATUNO (AdU)—6.41

  4. LOREN LANTIN (UST)—5.70

  5. MARY GRACE MAKASANGKAY (UE)—5.33

  6. MIKA ESPERANZA (DLSU)—4.68

  7. KIM FAJARDO (DLSU)—4.36

  8. ANA DEL MUNDO (UP)—4.00

  9. IVY PEREZ (NU)—3.63

  10. GIZELLE TAN (AdMU)—1.83

Individual Receiving Leaders:

  1. JEN REYES (NU)—35.79 (Efficiency %)

  2. MELISSA GOHING (DLSU)—26.57

  3. DANCEL DUSARAN (UST)—25.77

  4. PRINCESS GAISER (UP)—23.03

  5. CHRISTINE AGNO (FEU)—22.73

  6. ROSEMARIE VARGAS—22.35

  7. PRINCESS LISTANA (AdU)—21.76

  8. DEN-DEN LAZARO (AdMU)—21.33

  9. PIA SARMIENTO (UE)—16.04

  10. JUDY ANN CABALLEJO (UST)—14.19

Ateneo: “Baldo” (as coach Roger Gorayeb jokingly calls Alyssa Valdez) is on a sick scoring run which no doubt highlights her penchant for obliterating defenses. Her partner in the open-hitter position, Fille Cainglet is 7th in the league. This duo accounts for about half of Ateneo’s total offense. Now that Cainglet is sidelined for at least the first couple of games for the Lady Eagles in the second round, can Ateneo continue winning with only Valdez’s points? Captain Dzi Gervacio and reserve Ella de Jesus (who may get the start in Cainglet’s absence) will now have to fill Fille’s shoes and at the same time get their normal numbers in. That may be tough for the Lady Eagles because now the opposition knows that Gervacio and de Jesus will exert more effort to get this done, making Valdez the only marked woman. Gorayeb has been known for his ability to adjust to key injuries, but I don’t remember the last time his squad succeeded after losing an all-around “stud” like Cainglet. Jem Ferrer leads the league in setting efficiency, but without sure-fire targets and Den-Den Lazaro not having a stellar season receiving, the Lady Eagles need to push hard to maintain their spot atop the leaderboard.

(AdMU’s Projected Record at the end of 2nd round: 10-4)

NU: As for NU, Din-Din is going to get her points. In fact, I believe her 125 is still underachieving. Myla Pablo has shown she is part of the future of the Lady Bulldogs and coach Francis Vicente has done well to bring out the talents of setter Ivy Perez over the more veteran Precious Salibad. However, Perez hasn’t really been lighting it up in terms of setting efficiency and NU is fortunate to have a long middle attacker in Santiago to compensate. Now if ultra-senior Kai Nepomuceno goes back to the scoring we know she is capable of, the Lady Bulldogs will be tough to scathe. Remember that star libero Jen Reyes—like Nepomuceno—is playing in her final season. Reyes is showing all why she is among the best in her craft in the archipelago by leading the league in reception efficiency, but her teammates need to be there to convert those second and third balls. NU must get results now. Their men’s team is undefeated. They must also find a chance to contend for the title.

(NU’s Projected Record at the end of 2nd round: 8-6)

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UST: UST is the hardest team to figure out so far. After beating DLSU in the opener—a feat never accomplished by any team in the last five years—the Tigresses bowed to NU in four sets. Then they lost in straight sets to Ateneo in a game that wasn’t even close. Easy wins over UE and UP seemed to get the Tigresses buzzing again, but then an unexpected five-set character-testing win over Adamson had many fans scratching their heads on how a team that appeared inferior on paper could stretch the 2011 finalists to the brink of disaster. Then the upset to 2-4 FEU now sends coach Ogie Mamon back to his I-Pad for answers. UST was projected to be third in the unofficial power rankings, across all surveys. Well, they sort of achieved that as they are in a three-way tie for that position, but many observers noted the hesitation of who would step up to be the closer—or even the deliverer. Is it Caballejo? Is it Banaticla? Is it Ortiz? Who does Loren Lantin feed when the chips are down? I believe coach Ogie is one the fresh, brilliant minds in volleyball today. He’ll figure this one out. And when he does, UST will go on a tear. They may even pull a few shockers along the way.

(UST’s Projected Record at the end of 2nd round: 9-5)

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Adamson: As for the Adamson Lady Falcons, you still sort of wonder if there is a power struggle between Pau Soriano—the team’s face-on-the-cereal-box and Sheila Pineda—the former reserve turned wunderkind. Newly installed AdU coach Sherwin Meneses has to figure out a way to have the Lady Falcons staying on the same page. May Macatuno (3rd in setting efficiency) has been the biggest beneficiary of the competition between Soriano and Pineda, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to wins so far. One thing working in favour of the Lady Falcons is their excellent floor defense. But they still need to string it together and as the other teams up the ante in the second round, Adamson may find it difficult to keep up.

(Adamson’s Projected Record at the end of 2nd round: 7-7)

FEU: Coach Kid Santos has been in the Nes Pamilar system since the start. This coaching transition should be seamless. But at 3-4 to end the first round, FEU will still admit it is in the rebuilding stage. Rosemarie Vargas has developed faster than many expected and Remy Palma is the kind of raw project many coaches would like to mold and eventually build a franchise around. But for now Wenneth Eulalio is the girl in the middle and has achieved a certain degree of success. But the Lady Tamaraws appear fragmented in their early endeavours and found difficulty scrapping for victories. However, the win against UST unlocked an element in their game we haven’t seen yet. Their cohesion at crucial moments of the match appears to be the breakthrough the Morayta Girls having been seeking. Gyzelle Sy is one of the most talented setters in the land. She needs to lead FEU to greatness—every game. But realistically, unless the Lady Tamaraws play flawless from here on out, this will go down as another rebuilding season, and then they lose Eulalio next year. In 2008, all the pieces fell together. It doesn’t appear to be the case this time around—at least not yet.

(FEU’s Projected Record at the end of 2nd round: 5-9)

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DLSU: After that incredible victory against their league-leading rivals, the Lady Spikers (yes, I also believe they’ve earned that monicker) have just extended their winning streak to six straight. Here’s the deal: I don’t think they win drop another match the rest of the season. UST might give them another fit in the second round, but because coach Ramil de Jesus has found a new way of sidestepping land mines—in personnel shuffling—his powers of adjustment is now beyond reproach. Captain Abigail Maraño will once again be named MVP and Ara Galang will turn out to be the new Charlene Cruz. Michele Gumabao has “sort of” mentioned to me once that this season will be her last in a DLSU uniform as she intends to pursue many ambitions. If that’s the case, then going out with a three-peat should be priority number one for the Taft Girls. La Salle has transitioned well from Maureen Penetrante to Manilla Santos to Stephanie Mercado to Jac Alarca to now. Looks like another crown in the horizon for the Lady Spikers.

(DLSU’s Projected Record at the end of 2nd round: 13-1)

UP/UE: Let’s face it boys and girls, it’s another also-ran season for these two schools. Probably the biggest highlight for both is when they clash again in the second round. Although I am from UP, I see the Lady Warriors winning the next match in four sets. Leuseht Dawis is now UE’s all-around leader and with the Lady Maroons OBVIOUSLY in rebuilding phase, coach Boy Dalistan will end the season with that elusive “W”.

(UP’s UE’s Projected Record at the end of 2nd round: 1-13)

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Of course, an injury here and there could turn things around easily for the six teams still in contention for the Final Four. Ateneo (if Cainglet recovers fast) and UST have the best chances of derailing DLSU’s title bid. NU is the dark horse. I believe these four teams are advancing to the Final Four, but it really doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out.

The opening matches gave us something special—all games went five sets. The closing matches of the second round (well, at least two of them), gave us a good thrill. The second round is upon us. Let’s all enjoy this roller-coaster ride called UAAP 75 Woemn’s Volleyball. Let’s get it on!

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate)

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.