New coach wants to see better speed, power, accuracy from Lady Maroons

University of the Philippines head coach Godfrey Okumu.

University of the Philippines head coach Godfrey Okumu isn’t asking much from his Lady Maroons, he just wants them to be better.

Okumu said he wants the Lady Maroons to take every aspect of the game of volleyball and push it to another level.

“I’m not trying to change the way they play, what I’m here to do is improve the way they play,” said Okumu Wednesday at UP College of Human Kinetics.

“They should be faster, if they spike they should spike stronger, if they can pass they should pass better. Every thing, I’m trying to improve the speed, power, accuracy.”

Last year, Okumu took over a UP team that ended up with a 7-7 record in Season 79 under head coach Jerry Yee.

The Kenyan national believes that with UP’s intact core last season, it was already ripe to become a legitimate title contender.

Season 78 Rookie of the Year Isa Molde, Diana Carlos, Justine Dorog, and Ayel Estrañero make up the team’s center but has yet to prove that their 2016 Final Four appearance wasn’t a fluke.

“Three years is a long time for a team to play together, and I think is they should’ve won,” said Okumu. “Three years with the same team, it’s quite a long time.”

“I hope that changing the speed, the way they pass or spike, and improving their power and I think we will get somewhere.”