Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Kath Arado could stay at University of the East even after playing her final game in the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament, albeit in a different capacity.
The Lady Warriors lost their last match of the year to league leader Ateneo, 25-20, 27-25, 25-11, Sunday at Filoil Flying V Centre but the star libero could be staying in the school for the foreseeable future.
UE Athletic Director Rod Roque, who’s also the team’s interim head coach after replacing Francis Vicente, said Arado had already applied to be an assistant coach for the following season.
“I already submitted Kath’s papers to UE’s president,” said Roque.
Arado leaves UE as one of its most successful liberos after being named Rookie of the Year in Season 77, Best Receiver in Season 80, and Best Digger in Seasons 79 and 80.
She’s also in contention for the Best Libero award for Season 81.
Arado, who had a career record of 7-63 in the UAAP, said she doesn’t regret staying in UE despite not achieving the team success she envisioned for five years.
“In the five years I stayed in UE, there were a lot of changes and I know that my co-seniors and I that we don’t regret playing for UE even though there were a lot of negative things being said against the team,” said Arado in Filipino.
Arado wasn’t the only Lady Warrior, who exhausted her collegiate eligibility with middle blocker Roselle Baliton, setter Lai Bendong, and outside spiker Judith Abil also set to leave after the 2018-19 academic year.
“There were times that we actually thought of leaving UE but we held on to our ideals of changing the way people perceive UE,” said Arado who had 28 excellent digs and 12 successful receptions.