Casiey Dongallo had no qualms in sharing the credit after an outstanding debut performance in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament for the UE Lady Warriors.
Dongallo scored 27 points in UE’s big win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Saturday.
Despite now earning the distinction of having the highest scoring output for a rookie in UAAP women’s volleyball, Dongallo deflected the credit to her teammates, as they towed UE to their first win over Ateneo in 14 years.
“I’m just thankful to my teammates kasi I cannot do that, I cannot have naman 27 points without them eh,” said the freshman out of California Academy in Antipolo.
She also admitted that her first match in the UAAP overwhelmed her at the start, where she was sluggish in the opening set – which Ateneo won.
But because of her teammates, Dongallo was able to recover and play a game that set a high standard for the rest of her collegiate career.
“I’m just happy na nung time na kinakabahan ako, andoon sila. Hindi nila ako pinabayaan na bumaba yung laro ko. Andoon sila to lift me up kaya po nagka-27 points po ako nang dahil din po sa kanila, and dahil sa set ni Kizzie [Madriaga] and dahil po sa tulong ng iba kong teammates,” she said.
As for what she wants to achieve for the rest of the season, she remains modest in wanting to restore UE to its former glory one game at a time.
“We will just do our best throughout this season and as I said nga po before, our goal for this season is we just want to… angatan kung asan man yung UE before.”
The job continues for Dongallo and the rest of the Lady Warriors when they face the UST Golden Tigresses on Wednesday, February 21, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. They play in the main game at 4 p.m.
