ALLEIAH Malaluan is back in the local volleyball scene stronger than ever.
Having played for Alas Pilipinas in the 2025 VTV Cup last July, Malaluan finally made her long-awaited PVL debut with newly-crowned preseason champion PLDT after a two-month wait.
There, the 5-foot-11 winger came a reception shy of a triple-double with 11 points, 13 digs and nine receptions to help put Chery Tiggo away in straight sets in their 2025 PVL Invitational opener.
READ PLDT sweeps Chery Tiggo in impressive PVL Invitational opener
Malaluan, who was with La Salle for 15 years, witnessed her Lady Spikers seniors share a full-circle moment on center court in the 2025 PVL on Tour finals four days ago where they celebrated their first pro title game with longtime coaches Ramil de Jesus and Noel Orcullo.
One day, she hopes to mirror her seniors’ success in the pros too.
“Knowing na they all came from La Salle, siyempre motivated din ako na maipakita ko rin yung best ko, same as sa mga ates,” Malaluan told SPIN.ph.
“I know pinaghirapan nila yun and grabe yung hard work na pinakita nila so I just hope maging maganda rin akong help sa team.”
Part of her struggled to grasp the thought of transitioning to the pros, at first.
“At first, parang hindi pa ako confident sa sarili ko kasi I've been through a lot. Pero ayun nga, I'm just really happy na one step at a time akong bumabalik.
“[All the missed UAAP championships] became like a motivation for me kasi di ko man na-achieve [na manalo ng title] nung college nung last playing year ko, at least here, ita-try ko ulit i-prove sa sarili ko na kaya ko.”
Even with national team experience on hand, Malaluan admitted feeling rookie jitters in her first taste of PVL action but is more than ready now for the task at hand of unraveling the next chapter of her young career.
“Nagulat ako [sa Alas call-up]. ‘Di ko ina-expect, pero at the same time, I took that chance na rin,” Malaluan said.
“Malaking experience sa’kin kasi nakaka-play ako with other international players and nakita ko pa kung paano talaga ‘yung laruan sa ibang bansa.”
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