Molde says UP bolstered by offseason titles heading to UAAP 81

MANILA, Philippines – To say that the UP Lady Maroons had an impressive offseason is an understatement.

UP took home not one but two championships during their eventful offseason, breaking a decades-long drought for a major volleyball league title.

Led by Kenyan mentor Godfrey Okumu, the Diliman squad bagged the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference and the Philippine Superliga  Collegiate Grand Slam titles in 2018, and had a bronze-medal finish in the Unigames.

Suddenly, the Lady Maroons are looking like the team to beat this UAAP Season 81.

But for PVL MVP Isa Molde, there's only one thing she wants the team to carry come the UAAP season.

"As a team, [dadalhin] namin yung feeling nung championship," Molde said in an interview with Philstar.com.

The PVL title didn't come easy for the Lady Maroons as they battled from the fourth spot to the finals where they had to slug it out with the FEU Lady Tamaraws in a five-set thriller. The Lady Tamaraws were two points away from forcing a deciding Game Three when UP went on a blistering 8-0 run to end the match and sweep their best-of-three series.

Molde and the rest of the Lady Maroons showed nerves of steel during that title-clinching set, with UP skipper Ayel Estranero finishing the job with an ace that caught the whole FEU squad by surprise;

No, the former Rookie of the Year wants that grit and emotional control to show when they return to the UAAP spotlight.

"Yung last point[s] na hinabol namin... kung ano yung nafeel namin nung [nag]-champion, dadalhin namin sa UAAP," Molde said. 

Molde and the Lady Maroons return to action this Saturday, February 16, at the FilOil Flying V Centre as they face the UE Lady Warriors in their UAAP Season 81 opener.