A door opens for Marinduque gal, she’s not taking anything for granted

Jamie Solina during the PVL Rookie Draft combine.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The inaugural PVL Rookie Draft, as expected, attracted some of the best talents from the UAAP and NCAA.

But lurking alongside those familiar names from prestigious universities in the country’s capital are unheralded players looking to pursue their dreams of breaking through in the league.

One of those aspirants is Jamie Solina, a 23-year-old setter out of Marinduque State University, who took the first step to reaching her goal through the Rookie Draft Combine held recently to allow teams to see what the 47-strong pool has to offer.

But Solina, who has drastically less experience than the others from her class, knows how slim her chance can be.

“When I passed my requirements [for the Draft], I said to myself ‘no expectations,’” Solina said in Filipino. “Because we all know that the other applicants will be from the UAAP and NCAA so when I saw that I was among those accepted, it was an answered prayer.”

“I didn’t expect that the list of accepted applicants will be posted [online] and I was shocked at the other names with me on the list so I started doubting my decision to continue because the others are way stronger,” she added.

And Solina, who unsurprisingly looks up to Jia de Guzman, wasn’t wrong about that with the names in the hat filled with stalwarts from formidable collegiate programs to national team members.

Those applying to be playmakers include Arellano’s Donnalyn Paralejas, Adamson’s Nikka Yandoc and Angelica Alcantara, Filipino-Canadian Nathali Ramacula, who also plays as a libero from Red River College Polytechnic, and one of the strongest bets Julia Coronel from La Salle and Alas Pilipinas.

Solina actually spent a lot of her childhood in Manila, transferring to different cities before an unexpected problem forced her family to move to Marinduque.

But her love for the sport remained the same as she continued playing and returned to Manila to finish her senior high school before the pandemic prevented her from trying out for a UAAP or NCAA school and she had to go back to the province.

But Solina pushed through, bringing with her to Manila the support of her kababayans (provincemates), coaches and teammates and dedication to improve herself.

Solina DIY-ed a bulk of that self-improvement, training herself by doing drills she learned as a senior high school student and adding to that by asking for more advanced workout programs from former teammates still in Manila.

“They told me to continue pursuing the Draft because this is an opportunity that I have been waiting for a long time … and no matter what happens they still have my back,” said Solina. “Me being a fan of professional volleyball players has helped [motivate] me to try and join the PVL Draft.”