Casiey Dongallo’s historic night goes for naught, but loss serves as lesson
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UE Lady Warriors’ Casiey Dongallo in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament. –UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Casiey Dongallo left everything on the floor and poured in 30 points — the highest-scoring output of a rookie in UAAP women’s volleyball.
But all her clutch efforts were for went for naught as the University of the East absorbed its second straight loss in Season 86, 25-22, 17-25, 18-25, 27-25, 11-15, as Far Eastern University came away with the victory on Sunday.
“This game would be a lesson for us. We still have a lot to work on as a team,” said the 18-year-old rookie sensation in Filipino after scoring 30 out of 91 attempts.
“As Kizzie [Madriaga] told us. We have to work on our teamwork because our opponents are tall so we have to move quicker and maximize our other hitters for us to be unpredictable.”
The California Academy product credited her career-high to Madriaga, who trusted her with almost half of UE’s 216 attack attempts.
WATCH: UE rising star Casiey Dongallo says they will learn from this loss. #UAAPSeason86 | @LanceAgcaoilINQpic.twitter.com/FpHByxqJ4X
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) February 25, 2024
“Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to score that much if not for Kizzie’s trust. I can’t do that without her and also my other teammates,” said Dongallo. “My mindset was to give my best and force a fifth set to give my team a chance to win.”
Madriaga, who’s been the setter of Dongallo since high school, said she knows what Dongallo is capable of, especially in crunch time.
“Casiey is the hitter who I always rely on when it comes to crucial times. Credit to her because she’s not breaking my trust and she’s really, really doing good,” said the rookie setter, who had 16 excellent sets.
Dongallo, who is already gaining fans after her stellar showing, admitted that she feels pressure but with the help of Madriaga and her coaches Jerry Yee and Dr. Obet Vital urging her to enjoy the game.
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Despite losing two in a row in their first three games, Dongallo is still optimistic about UE’s progress ahead of their next match against Adamson (1-1) on Sunday next week.
“Kowing that UE is a new system and we don’t have our key player Jelai [Gajero], we’re seeing the progress compared to UE before because we’re forcing close game and building our confidence,” she said.
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