Volleybelles know when to step back or fight back on social media

From L-R Alyssa Valdez, Dindin Santiago, Rachel Ann Daquis, Aby Marano. PHOTOS by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Being as famous as volleyball stars Alyssa Valdez and Rachel Daquis also has its fair share of dealing with negativity.

After all, they have about 1.3 million followers on their Twitter and Instagram accounts combined, but not all of those are there to cheer for these  volleybelles, whose fame has skyrocketed along with the sport the past few years.

While most of Valdez’s 495,000 followers on Twitter are there to cheer her on every Ateneo game and are ready to flood her with overwhelming adulation every time she tweets good morning, some are just there to pick on her every move.

As admirable as Valdez is, not even her charm can help her escape harsh remarks from haters.

“People have to know their limits. They should also think twice before posting [something incriminating] and that’s always been our reminder to everyone who usessocial media,”  Valdez, who also has 395,000 followers on her Instagram account @alyssa_valdez2, told INQUIRER.net during a photo shoot with her fellow volleyball stars for Friday’s Inquirer Sports Special.

“There’s always positive and negative comments and it has to be balanced. If there’s a positive comment then take it as an inspiration and motivation. Same with the negative comments because they are know the things that you’ve been doing wrong and might as well take it as constructive criticisms.”

Daquis, who is one of the most recognizable faces in volleyball aside from Valdez, has learned how to brush off negative comments.

The former Far Eastern U star said she takes every word uttered by haters in stride and appreciates every tweet or comment from her 421,000 Twitter and Instagram followers.

“I read comments but I don’t get affected by haters and bashers,” Daquis, one of the first volleyball players to crossover from being an athlete to a model, said.

“It’s how you handle it and for me, I don’t let [the negative comments] affect me. I just make sure that I will play better for them.”

And while Valdez and Daquis keep themselves from answering back to their haters, Aby Marano, the former De La Salle star, goes for the opposite approach.

Marano, known for her intensity and competitive fire on the court, also switches on her beast mode on social media.

“Usually, kapag trip ko sinasagot ko talaga. Yun personality ko eh kumbaga kung hindi kayo makakarinig sa ibang players ako na lang magsasalita for them,” said Marano, who has over 200,000 Twitter and Instagram followers. “Ito nararamdaman namin as athletes hindi para i-bash niyo. Hindi kami naglalaro para sa inyo.”

Marano said she has no problems with negative comments towards her but when it’s against her friends and family, that’s when she’ll likely fire back.

But no matter how harsh and overboard some comments go, it serves no match for a single tweet of admiration these volleybelles get from their legion of following.

“Every time na makakabasa ka ng comment or tweet na galing sa fans talagang mas pagbubutihan mo pa yung paglalaro mo and nakakalimutan mo na rin yung mga negative na nabasa mo,” said former National University standout Dindin Santiago, who has over 130,000 followers on Twitter and Instagram combined.