Alyssa Valdez: Is she the most popular volleyball player in the country?

Just how popular is Ateneo Lady Eagles' universal player, Alyssa Valdez?

Many volleyball players—both in the professional and amateur leagues—have already said in interviews and reports that they believe that Alyssa is the driving force behind the Ateneo squad. Some people, including sports analysts and commentators, even went so far as to say that she is THE future of volleyball in the Philippines.

Well, I'd be hard-pressed to answer that question. I haven't done any form of survey or poll that could measure Alyssa Valdez's popularity. What I can safely say is that this girl can draw in the crowd without even trying.

At last Sunday's Shakey's V-league games, for instance, Alyssa Valdez attracted a huge throng of screaming, giggling fans at the gates of the San Juan Arena. As you can see in the video, Alyssa had to be escorted by burly bouncers just so she could get inside a red car, wherein, I later learned, her SMART teammate and former DLSU libero Melissa Gohing was waiting for her.

And Alyssa didn't even play in any of the games that day! She just sat on the bench with Coach Roger Gorayeb (the former coach for Ateneo Lady Eagles) and worked as "water girl" for team SMART.

Just wait until this phenom suits up for SMART when the Quarterfinal round rolls in.

For me, the team to beat is still the Cagayan Valley Lady Rising Suns. I can hardly wait to see Alyssa Valdez and Dindin Santiago in action, testing their mettle against UST veterans Aiza Maizo and Angge Tabaquero of Team Cagayan!
 

Peter Torres's Monster Spike

Here’s the monster spike (and front-line kill) coming from the volleyball star himself, Peter Den Mar Torres, the 6’3” middle hitter of the National University Men’s Volleyball team. In case you’re wondering who the setter is, that’s IC Mendoza, the TV host who, just like me, is addicted to volleyball. This video was taken after the Azukals volleyball games at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City last August 25, 2013.

Peter Den Mar Torres was the Most Valuable Player in the UAAP Men’s Volleyball Finals Season 75. If you want to see glimpses of his life on and off the court, you can follow him on Twitter (@peterdmtorres) or on Instagram (petertorres04).

More volleyball updates and vids to follow!

NOTE: If you want to have your photos or videos of your favorite volleyball stars posted on this blogsite, you can reach me through thevolleyboy[at]gmail[dot]com. Yes, I welcome fan contributions. Of course, proper credits will be given to the owners of the videos and pictures.

There's a NU kid in Town

The Santiago sisters are ready to dominate UAAP Season 76
(Photo courtesy SPIN.PH)

An insider, who is close to some UST volleyball players, told me yesterday that National University has added another tall player to its roster. No, it's not Jaja Santiago, the younger sister of UST-turned-NU middle hitter Dindin Santiago. We all know that she's part of the NU squad already.

This new player is from Davao. What really surprised my friend (and me!) is that this new girl is even taller than Jaja, who now stands 6'5 1/2".

Wow!

Rumor has it that Jaja is "bangko" because this new player is, as my friend put it, "mas magaling daw kay Jaja."

Another wow!

NU is really going to pull out all the stops come UAAP Season 76. They're really hungry for the title.

I can't wait to see who dominates in the collegiate volleyball scene in November.

FIVB World Volleyball Grand Prix 2013 Final Round

Here are the teams that made it to the final round of the 2013 World Volleyball Grand Prix. As the picture suggests, only the top 5 teams (China, Brazil, Serbia, USA, Italy) advance to the final round. Japan automatically gets a spot because they're the hosts of this year's finals.

Too bad my favorite team, Russia, didn't make the cut.

As you can see, China remains undefeated, but I guess that's because the teams that they've played with during the elimination round were not really top-seeded squads. Eight of the nine teams that they defeated in the elimination round are in rank 8 and below.

Let's see if they can still remain on the top spot once they see action against the volleyball stars of Brazil, USA, and Japan.

Photo courtesy of Pinoy Balibolista Facebook Page.

Aaaand she's back!

Former UST standout Maruja Banaticla is the Player of the Game in the opening-day match between SMART and FEU at the Shakey's V-league Open Conference at the San Juan Arena. (Photo courtesy Shakey's V-League Facebook page)

SMART team's open hitter Maruja Banaticla—the former UST star who didn't see much action in the previous seasons of UAAP and the Shakey's V-League—emerged as the Player of the Game with 19 points (no less!) during Shakey's V-league's opening day match between SMART and FEU yesterday afternoon at the San Juan Arena.

This feat should shut all her critics up who said that Maru is waaaay past her prime.

Too bad Maru has chosen to leave UST's indoor volleyball team on her final year of UAAP eligibility. According to some fans, Maru would just play for UST's beach volleyball team.

Here's the article posted on SPIN.PH:

Shorthanded Smart still too much for Lady Tams in V-League opener
By Mei-Lin Lozada

August 18, 2013, 06:40 pm

A SHORTHANDED Smart-Maynilad squad still proved too much for Far Eastern University, 25-16, 25-5, 25-19, in the 10th Open Conference of the Shakey's V-League at The Arena in San Juan on Sunday.

As the rain poured outside the venue, Maruja Banaticla waxed hot inside the court and came up with 19 points to lead the eight-woman team of Roger Gorayeb to an opening-day victory.

"We may be short in number but we are not short in experience, knowledge and maturity," said the veteran mentor, who missed ace spiker Alyssa Valdez and several other players.

Sue Roces and Gretchel Soltones both chipped in nine points apiece, while Charo Soriano and Mica Guliman added five markers each and setters Jem Ferrer and team captain Rubie de Leon had two for Smart-Maynilad. Melissa Gohing, the lone libero, completed the lineup.

Smart-Maynilad dominated the second set, putting up a comfortable 9-1 lead. Banaticla made up for two errors as her two hits sparked their 12-0 run that made it 21-3.

FEU took an early 6-5 lead in the third but Banaticla, Soltones and Soriano came up with a 5-2 mini run to finally seal the win.
Mary Palma had 13 points for the Lady Tamaraws, who fielded 12 of its 14 players. 

Follow the writer on Twitter: @spinph

Russia vs Germany at the WVGP 2013

Here's the YouTube video (courtesy of fansvolleyball) of the August 17, 2013 match between Russia and Germany at the 2013 World Volleyball Grand Prix.

Russia started a little sluggish, handing to Germany 2 sets easily, before bouncing back to win the pivotal third set. They clinched the fourth set to force a tie-breaking fifth set. Goncharova and Kosheleva stepped up to the plate to win the final set and make their team's claim for a slot in the final round stronger.

Team Russia!

I have high hopes for Russia's women volleyball team to do well in the big leagues in the coming years.

Did you see how young their players are? Probably the oldest in the roster currently playing in the 2013 World Volleyball Grand Prix is the 32-year-old setter Anna Matienko. I love the fact that this setter can whack the ball like a real hitter whenever she has the chance.

Anna Matienko

Russia's star player Nataliya Goncharova, whose shirt name is her married surname Obmochaeva, is 24 years old.  This opposite hitter, with a towering height of 194 cm, is the tournament's top scorer as of August 17, 2013. And I'm pretty sure she will continue to be on the top spot when the final round rolls in.

'Goncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?'

And oh, Goncha is wearing jersey no. 8, the same number that my all-time favorite player Evgenia Artamonova wore at the height of her amateur volleyball career in early 2000s. Goncha has also proven that she's heiress to the throne of Ekaterina Gamova and Liubov Sokolova, two of the most fordibale attackers that Russia has ever produced.

Russia's legendary players (from veengle.com)

All eyes are on Russia's newest volleyball dynamite, Victoria Chaplina. This outside hitter, who is turning 25 in October, made her mark in the 2012 Montreux Volley Masters. She continues to play in top form, bringing in the points when the team needs them the most.

Viktoria Chaplina (from worldofvolley.com)

There's also the realiable Tatiana Kosheleva, who made very few appearances in the 2012 London Olympics due to a shoulder injury. I don't think she's back in her best form, but it looks as though this 24-year-old outside hitter  is on her way to becoming the other go-to girl for the team when game pressure builds. I am seeing a Goncha-Koshe dominance in the near future.

Kosheleva (from vertexvolley.com)

Goncha and Koshe, who's the new queen? (from forosperu.net)

The 22-year-old middle hitter Irina Zaryazhko (height: 196 cm) also shows a lot of promise. It's a good thing that Russia has revamped its plays. Before, Russia would always go for plays for its wing spikers. This time around, Russia's arsenal includes plays for the middle and backrow attackers.

Go Irina! (from sb-community.com)

The only area that the Russian squad has to work on is floor defense. If they master that aspect, then these Russian girls will sure be a force to be reckoned with come the 2016 Rio Games.