FOR UAAP women’s volleyball aficionados over the last decade, the name May Roque should ring a bell.
She was once in the upper echelons of collegiate spikers and was poised to carry the Adamson program on her shoulders in the midst of a fast-rising Ateneo-La Salle championship rivalry at the time.
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From her rookie campaign in UAAP Season 77 in 2014, Roque unleashed her hard-hitting exploits off the bat as part of what would be a promising long-term project over in San Marcelino.
Among the Lady Falcons icons she’d play with throughout her collegiate career are some of the sport’s household names in Jema Galanza, Eli Soyud, Mylene Paat, Chiara Permentilla, and Amanda Villanueva, among others.
Midway through her time with the Lady Falcons, Roque succumbed to an ACL injury in 2016 that ultimately disrupted the rising trajectory of her career.
Nine years later, she’s out to reclaim her narrative and own her story again the way it was meant to be written.
“I want to try again kasi hindi ko tinapos 'yung UAAP. Gusto kong i-fulfill 'yung [time na nawala] sa volleyball career ko if ever ma-draft ako,” Roque said.
The what-ifs and could-have-beens haunted the 27-year-old winger for almost a decade since her career-defining injury.
It forced her to take a much-needed step back from the sport in an attempt to pick herself up again no matter how hard it would wind up to be.
“Nag-break ako [from volleyball] kasi mentally, hindi pa ako ready ulit. Sobrang na-down ako after nung na-ACL ako, tapos hindi na [ako] nakabalik,” she admitted.
“Sunod-sunod na ‘yung struggles ko after nu’n so siguro binuild up ko muna 'yung courage ko para makabalik sa volleyball."
Come what May
Roque’s volleyball comeback was first slated much earlier just before the pandemic struck.
But like the rest of the world, her plans had to come to a screeching halt.
“Nagta-try [ako bumalik]. Babalik sana ako before the pandemic, kaso ayun, nag-pandemic, so na-pause ulit. Kaya siguro now na talaga 'yung time na makabalik talaga sa volleyball,” Roque said.
And among the aforementioned ex-Adamson stars she had the chance to share the court with, one of them gave her that extra push to get her motor going again.
“Si Jema, lagi niya talaga akong pinu-push bumalik. [Sabi niya], 'bumalik ka kasi kaya mo naman 'yun'. Isa rin siya sa mga nag-push sa'kin bumalik sa volleyball,” she shared.
With her impending return comes a new and improved version of the lethal winger she once was — albeit hungrier to bring back that missing luster to her once-heralded name.
“[Mai-ooffer ko] 'yung hungriness na makapaglaro ulit. Sure ako na gagawin ko 'yung 100 percent ko para makabalik and maka-help sa team na kukuha or magda-draft sa akin,” she said.
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