Jennifer Nierva. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Jennifer Nierva had herself one heck of a turnaround.
National University’s rookie libero was downtrodden when the Lady Bulldogs lost to Far Eastern University, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22, in their previous game in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament.
Nierva tallied just 12 excellent digs and 13 successful receptions and those numbers did not go well with the freshman as she left Filoil Flying V Center in tears.
Just three days later, Nierva got back on the UAAP playing floor and completely showed University a defensive masterpiece in NU’s 25-21, 26-24, 17-25, 23-25, 17-15 victory Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Nierva said it was unbecoming of her when she broke down after NU’s loss to FEU and that, as the team’s libero, she should always remain composed for her teammates.
“I shouldn’t be like that,” said Nierva in Filipino. “As a libero you should always play with consistency especially I’m the only libero in the team. Even if I commit an error or if I did something wrong, I should be composed as possible.”
Nierva tallied 30 excellent digs and 27 successful receptions in the game that ultimately eliminated the Lady Maroons from Final Four contention.
NU, which was officially eliminated from the semifinal race several weeks prior, improved to a 4-9 record while the Lady Maroons dropped to 6-7 making way for University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University to lock up the last two Final Four spots.
“When you’re a libero, you shouldn’t be emotional, you have to be steady always,” said Nierva. “Your attitude should always be straightforward to your teammates so you can always motivate them.”