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.
There’s something magical brewing in the latter stages of the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament.
Mathematically speaking, all eight teams are still in Final Four contention with only defending champion De La Salle in solid footing.
After a perfect 2-0 slate this week, the Lady Spikers have assured themselves at least a playoff for the semifinals with an 8-2 record.
And just as the recurring theme of this list for the past few weeks, there are two new faces for this edition of the rankings.
1. Kianna Dy (De La Salle University, opposite hitter)
Kianna Dy. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last week: No. 2
Weeks on list: 4
Kianna Dy may not unload a plethora of points against her opponents, averaging just 13.4 points a game, but when she scores it matters.
And she was instrumental in La Salle’s perfect run this week where the Lady Spikers hacked out contrasting victories.
Dy was solid in the Lady Spikers’ three-set sweep of the Lady Maroons, 25-15, 25-19, 25-19, with14 points on six spikes, four blocks, and five service aces.
But it was in their five-setter against FEU that the star opposite spiker displayed her briliance.
Dy scored 18 points, but four of those came when it mattered most for La Salle.
After the Lady Spikers went tit-for-tat against the Lady Tamaraws in the fourth set, Dy unleashed her wrath that ultimately dismantled FEU, 25-17, 21-25, 16-25, 25-20, 15-5.
Of the 10 points the Lady Spikers scored in the fifth, Dy had four of them and she got ample help from another member of this list.
2. Cherry Rondina (University of Santo Tomas, outside hitter)
Cherry Rondina. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last week: No. 7
Weeks on list: 6
Cherry Rondina has been the most prolific scorer of the season so far and her scoring exploits have finally stopped UST’s mid-schedule disaster.
The Golden Tigresses were in a tailspin before facing UP, having lost five straight games, something head coach Kung Fu Reyes described as “uncharacteristic.”
And it wasn’t just Reyes, who was fed up with all the misery, so was Rondina.
A ticking time bomb, Rondina exploded for 25 points in the Golden Tigresses’ four-set win over the Lady Maroons, 19-25, 30-28, 25-20, 25-16.
Rondina’s offensive production solidified her place atop the scoring leaders with a total of 212 points across 10 games making her the only player this point of the season to average more than 20 a game.
And her monstrous scoring also led her to have the most appearances on this list with six, edging out Jaja Santiago (5).
3. Jema Galanza (Adamson University, outside hitter)
Jema Galanza. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 2
Adamson University has been having an up-and-down season.
The Lady Falcons went from serious contenders who defeated the mighty Lady Spikers to bleacher-sitting spectators who have lost to subpar teams after their stunner against La Salle.
With Adamson’s season crashing, the angelic Jema Galanza lifted the Lady Falcons up as if she was Athena inspiring the Greeks on whatever battle they’re in.
Galanza was divine for the Lady Falcons as she scored 22 points in five sets against the Lady Warriors, 19-25, 25-11, 16-25, 25-16, 15-12.
And Galanza was also clutch for Adamson when she powered one through in the fifth set that gave the Lady Falcons the 14-11 match point.
4. Mary Joy Baron (De La Salle University, middle blocker)
Mary Joy Baron. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 2
Mary Joy Baron was the first player to top this list and it took her six weeks to make another appearance.
Although she now ranks as just the No. 4 player, her credentials are nothing short of incredible.
After scoring a modest six points in the Lady Spikers’ win over UP, Baron upped the ante and tripled that production against FEU.
Baron put up 18 points against the Lady Tamaraws, and just like Dy, was queenly in her performance in the fifth set.
Baron scored three of the Lady Spikers’ 10 points in the fifth set as La Salle quelled FEU’s march and establish an 8-2 record in the standings.
5. Maddie Madayag (Ateneo de Manila University, middle blocker)
Maddie Madayag. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 2
Ateneo has so far been one of the more consistent teams in the season.
After losing two straight games at the start of the tournament, the Lady Eagles have soared and dropped just one game after seven matches.
And against NU, the once owner of the first seed of the tournament, the Lady Eagles showed that they are still a force to be reckoned with.
In the middle of all that was captain Maddie Madayag, who put up 13 points in their three-set sweep of the Lady Bulldogs, 25-22, 25-16, 25-17.
Madayag came in all fronts for Ateneo, scoring six spikes and six aces and her lone block of the match was an emphatic one.
Maddie, the team captain, went toe-to-toe with the towering Santiago in the second set and blocked the NU skipper to give Ateneo a 22-16 lead in the second set.
6. Milena Alessandrini (University of Santo Tomas, outside hitter)
Milena Alessandrini. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 1
She’s the first debutante this week and Milena Alessandrini had hell of a game to deserve her spot.
Alessandrini showed promise in her first few games in the first round before she suffered a right shoulder injury that sidelined her for a month.
She came back at the start of the second round as a libero when UE dealt UST a four-set beating, 25-23, 18-25, 28-26, 26-24, but her true form showed when the Golden Tigresses tangled with the Lady Maroons.
Alessandrini lit up for a season-high 20 points as she provided a much-needed help to Rondina.
7. Mylene Paat (Adamson University, opposite hitter/middle blocker)
Mylene Paat. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 1
Mylene Paat has been invaluable for Adamson University this season as she’s become one of Galanza’s reliable lieutenants.
Throughout the course of the tournament, Paat displayed a scoring versatility that few can match up to.
Paat is the No. 11 scorer in the league in terms of total points, 124, and also the fifth best blocker with an average of 0.62 per set.
On Sunday, however, Paat concentrated mainly on her spikes when she put up 18 points with 17 coming off hits, helping the Lady Falcons slip past the Lady Warriors in five sets.