Head coach: Airess Padda
Last season: 1-13
Key holdovers: Jema Galanza, Joy Dacoron
Key additions/returnees: Fhem Emnas, Mylene Paat, Eli Soyud
Adamson University is done playing in the fringes, and for Season 80 the Lady Falcons have nowhere to go but soar upwards.
Never mind that the Lady Falcons have a combined record of 2-26 for the past two UAAP seasons, that figure is a mere statistic for a now determined Adamson squad that is eager to challenge the league’s volleyball powers.
Head coach Airess Padda said that if the men’s basketball team and the Pep Squad can change the landscape, so can the Lady Falcons.
“Well one, I think we’re a school that didn’t really have a fighting winning culture until now,” said Padda. “Our basketball team ended up in the Final Four and our Pep Squad brought it home this year.”
“I think we have the best attitude but I also think we’re hungry. To see an underdog come from behind and fight, I think that’s what we have this year. We have that fighting spirit.”
And that fighting spirit already emanated for the Lady Falcons during the offseason when they went on a tear of the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference and won six straight games before bowing out in the semifinals.
Although skipper Jema Galanza was injured during the Final Four, the fight the remaining Lady Falcons brought against Arellano Univesity was enough for Padda to hope for the coming UAAP season.
With Galanza fully recovered and the returning Fhem Emnas and Mylene Paat in the fold, Padda is looking forward for a renewed passion her team can bring.
Adamson also brought in former champion Eli Soyud, who played with La Salle a few years back, to give the team that winning experience.
“I really want to set goals for ourselves, every team’s dream, on the top of their goal list, is to win the championship,” said Padda. “I know that they’ve been working hard, but we are hungry and we can battle this year.”