EJ Laure. Photo by Tristan Tamayo.INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—University of Santo Tomas’ EJ Laure is set to sit out the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament as to not disrupt the rhythm of the team.
Laure, the Season 77 Rookie of the Year, skipped Season 80 due to a shoulder injury and even though it has healed, she said she decided to not play in 2019 in respect to her teammates who have already developed on-court chemistry without her.
“They’ve been training for so long without me and they were preparing for the UAAP in my absence, I think it’s unfair if I just suddenly come in,” said Laure in Filipino in a report from Volleyverse.com. “So I won’t be playing in Season 81.”
UST finished Season 80 as the seventh seed with a 4-10 record with Best Scorer Cherry Rondina and Rookie of the Year Milena Alessandrini carrying much of the offensive burden for the Golden Tigresses.
Rondina, however, had to carry the Golden Tigresses by herself for much of the tournament since Alessandrini missed a bulk of the games due to injury.
A frontline of Rondina, Alessandrini, and Laure would’ve been a potent offensive threat, but there’s still another Laure set to suit up for UST in 2019.
Laure’s younger sister Eya will be joinining Rondina and Alessandrini and this time, there won’t be a conflict of positions.
Rondina and Laure are both open spikers but Eya has been playing as an opposite hitter for head coach Kung Fu Reyes for much of the volleyball offseason.
“The lineup’s full especially in my position with Sisi and Milena both playing as outside hitters while Eya is the opposite,” said Laure. “Of course coach Kung Fu has a plan for all of this. We just have to trust him.”