BY Gwen Bergado
EVEN after they fumbled their first two matches in UAAP Season 87, third-year Lady Warrior Khy Cepada still has high hopes for the new-look University of the East.
“Actually po, ‘yung dikit na ‘yan, sakit na talaga namin yan. 'Di kami nagfi-finish strong,” the opposite hitter explained after they fell to University of Santo Tomas in four sets on Saturday.
READ: Behind Jurado and Poyos, UST takes out frustrations on UE
A week ago in their opening match, the red-and-white had a chance to pull off a reverse sweep against the University of the Philippines, but eventually crumbled.
READ: UE wins over 6K-strong MOA Arena crowd with 'never say die' performance vs UP
“I know naman na kaya namin, it’s just that sa huli, bumibitaw kami” she added.
The good news is through those two losses, a new leader has emerged in Recto after a tumultuous offseason.
Dropping 24 points on the Fighting Maroons and then 20 vs. the Golden Tigresses, Cepada has wasted no time filling the void left by last season's Rookie of the Year runner-up Casiey Dongallo.
Safe to say, there's a new 'Queen Warrior' in town.
“May kaunting pressure, pero ang sarap sa puso,” she answered after being asked about being the fresh face of UE volleyball.
“Ang sarap sa feeling na out of 11 players, ako pa ‘yung napili nilang sabihan na queen.”
All of this is uncharted territory for the 21 year old who showed glimpses in her first two seasons for the Lady Warriors, but nonetheless took a backseat more often than not.
“'Di ko po ine-expect na ganito ‘yung love na makukuha ko from the fans,” she said.
UE can do it!
Now she stands at the forefront of UE's grand plans to remain relevant, Cepada has full faith that she and the rest of her teammates can pull off surprises here and there.
“We have pieces naman po na kayang lumaban. Hindi naman po kami totally nawalan talaga,” she said, as she looks to keep joining forces with Van Bangayan, Riza Nogales, and Tin Ecalla in their post-Dongallo and Kizzie Madriaga era.
It's all just a matter of learning how to close out contests - something that they vow to keep working hard at.
As she put it, “Sana po maagapan po namin habang maaga pa.”
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