Belen, Canino lead Collegiate PoY awardees

A PAIR of UAAP rookie-MVPs and the top performers of the newest NCAA volleyball dynasty will be recognized in the Collegiate Press Corps Awards Night on Monday, May 29.

College of St. Benilde (CSB) stars Mycah Go and Gayle Pascual, National University’s (NU) Bella Belen and De La Salle University’s Angel Canino are set to be named as the Collegiate Volleyball Player of the Year (PoY) presented by the Philippine Sports Commission in the ceremony to be held at The Hummingbird Rooftop Bar in Quezon City.

Go earned the top volleyball honor for the NCAA in the athletic year 2021-2022 after she led the Lady Blazers to an undefeated season capped by a sweep of Arellano University in the NCAA Season 97 Finals. Go was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

NU’s Belen got the citation in the UAAP after emerging as the star of the Lady Bulldogs’ perfect 16-0 campaign. Belen made history as the first-ever rookie-MVP in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament, showcasing her all-around game as National U ended a title drought that spanned six decades.

Pascual and Canino, meanwhile, earned the awards for the 2022-2023 athletic year.

Pascual made sure that the Lady Blazers picked up from where they left off as they completed yet another perfect campaign.

She earned Best Opposite Spiker honors while providing crucial leadership for CSB, which played without Go in Season 98 due to a knee injury.

Canino, for her part, followed in Belen’s footsteps as a rookieMVP while spearheading La Salle’s return to the top. The highly touted open spiker displayed nerves of steel in guiding La Salle to back-to-back five-set wins over Belen’s NU in the finals.

The four players join a packed list of awardees that also include Mythical Teams in basketball for the past three athletic years, the Coaches of the Year and the Collegiate Basketball Player of the Year.