FILE–Isa Molde (left), who is now with Choco Mucho, and Alyssa Valdez, who leads Creamline. PVL MEDIA BUREAU
MANILA, Philippines—Isa Molde is only five years younger than Alyssa Valdez but the former University of the Philippines star credits her older contemporary as one of her volleyball inspirations.
The two shared just one season in the UAAP but faced each other in the club leagues several times over with Valdez holding a personal record of 9-1 against Molde.
It’s this unfortunate head-to-head that Molde, who now plays for Choco Mucho in the Premier Volleyball League, said inspired her to do even better.
“I’m always excited when I face her and her teams,” said Molde, who also credits Cha Cruz as one of her favorite players. “I want to prove myself that I can catch up to her.”
“In the times my teams played against her teams, we were always beat. I never beat Ate Alyssa, that’s why it’s exciting playing against her.”
Valdez and Molde first played against each other in UAAP Season 78 with the Ateneo star taking MVP and the UP upstart taking Rookie of the Year honors.
In that year, Valdez and the Lady Eagles held a 2-1 record over Molde and the Fighting Maroons in all three of their matchups.
That trend continued in the PVL with Valdez’ teams going 7-0 against Molde’s clubs.
Molde said that she doesn’t exactly want to beat Valdez but it’s her chance to gauge herself to see if she can step on to the same field as her volleyball inspiration.
“No, it’s not that I want to beat her, I’m just excited to play against her.”
