Inquirer 7 top UAAP 80 women’s volleyball players: Week 4

Every week, INQUIRER Sports will be ranking the seven best performers in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament. The author will base the rankings on the players’ team standings, statistics, and the intangibles that don’t appear on the stat sheets.

It was the week when the prodigal kids faced their former teams, and promptly wreaking havoc on the hopes of their once teammates.

Eli Soyud crushed La Salle while Celine Domingo became a thorn on the side of University of the East.

The Lady Spikers have lost two in three games, the first time since they forfeited 13 games in Season 70.

And oh, National University is still undefeated.

That said, here are the best performers in Week 4.

1. Eli Soyud (Adamson University, opposite hitter)

Eli Soyud. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Last week: N/A

She once delivered a highlight play/taunt for De La Salle back in the championship round of Season 77, but Eli Soyud is now the one shooting arrows on her former team.

Soyud gained notoriety for De La Salle when she blocked Alyssa Valdez then promptly pointing at the three-time UAAP MVP in the 2015 finals, and she furthered her narrative when she helped Adamson University score its first win against the Lady Spikers since Season 70.

In her first meeting against the Lady Spikers, Soyud unloaded 18 points on the same bunch of people she helped to the Season 78 championship.

Soyud scored four points for the Lady Falcons during their 9-1 run in the fourth set that gave them a 17-10 lead in a display that reeked of motivation and pent-up emotion.

2. Jasmine Nabor (National University, setter)

Jasmine Nabor. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Last week: No. 2

Weeks on list: 3

This is the first time that Jasmine Nabor appeared before her star teammate Jaja Santiago, but bear with this a little because it has to do with the matchups.

NU played just one game this week and it was against University of Santo Tomas, which also played just once this week, and Nabor showed a master class of playmaking against her counterpart Alina Bicar.

Nabor tallied 32 of the Lady Bulldogs’ 33 excellent sets while Bicar had 18 of the Golden Tigresses’ 22.

3. Jaja Santiago (National University, middle blocker)

Jaja Santiago. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Last week: No. 1

Weeks on list: 4

Santiago’s finally relinquished her control of the top spot she held for two straight weeks.

And she’s also this week’s “what if?” player.

Santiago had 19 points against UST losing the personal duel against Cherry Rondina, who had 25 points in a match that the Lady Bulldogs still finished with the upper hand.

4. Bernadeth Pons (Far Eastern University, outside hitter)

Bernadeth Pons. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Last week: N/A

Weeks on list: 2

Bernadeth Pons is back and she got on her return journey with a masterful performance against University of the East. 

Far Eastern University’s skipper has long established herself as a potent scorer and excellent defender tallying a line of 21 points and 24 digs, eight more than what libero Ria Duremdes had. 

And Pons is also instrumental in leading FEU to the third seed in the standings with a 3-2 record as she has, so far, become the fifth-best scorer in the tournament with a total of 87 points. 

5. Cherry Rondina (University of Santo Tomas, outside hitter)

Cherry Rondina. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Last week: No. 3

Weeks on list: 4 

She’s the girl that made Santiago this week’s “what if?” player. 

Despite the fact that UST slipped to their third loss in five games, Rondina was still an unstoppable homing missile for the Golden Tigresses.

Rondina had 25 points in their loss against Santiago’s Lady Bulldogs, but if the season ended at this point UST’s pocket rocket has NU’s power tower beat for the scoring title. 

Santiago is at second place with 111 total points while Rondina is at the top with 117. 

6. Jules Samonte (Ateneo de Manila University, opposite hitter)

Jules Samonte. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Last week: N/A

Ateneo has put its 0-2 start and is now riding a four-game winning streak to take a share of the second seed with La Salle.

And the Lady Eagles got half of their winning streak this week with Jules Samonte taking center stage for the two-time champions.

Samonte averaged 14.5 points in Ateneo’s pair of victories this week against University of the Philippines and Adamson. 

7. Celine Domingo (Far Eastern University, middle blocker)

Celine Domingo. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Last week: N/A

Rounding out this list is another prodigal kid. 

Celine Domingo once donned the ref-and-white of UE but on Saturday, the now Lady Tamaraw left the Lady Warriors looking black-and-blue.

In her first game against UE, Domingo unloaded 19 points in a statement game where she said that she’s “happy to be at FEU.”