S87 Collegiate Volleyball Individual Awardees

Mhicaela Belen is poised to become a three-time UAAP Most Valuable Player.

The graduating Belen will clinch the Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament MVP honors after leading her squad to the top spot at the end of the elimination round, leaving her mark across all departments.

The NU senior will receive the award before Game 2 of the best-of-three Finals between her team, National University, and De La Salle University on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Belen amassed 96.226 statistical points (SP), 22 more than her closest pursuer, Adamson University’s Shaina Nitura, who will bag the Rookie of the Year award with 74.259 SP.

The first-ever rookie MVP in the women’s division finished fourth in scoring with 246 points while emerging as the most efficient attacker with a 37.76 percent success rate.

Belen was also top the service category with 30 total aces, averaging 0.57 per set. Defense remained part of her strength as she placed fifth in digging (2.79 per set) and third in reception (44.44 percent efficiency).

Nitura, as the season’s best rookie, was a no-brainer after shattering several records, including the highest scoring season across all divisions with 371 points.

The 20-year-old Lady Falcon landed sixth in aces with 0.24 per set, eighth in blocking with 0.46 per frame, and ninth in spiking with a 34.65 percent success rate.

Belen will also earn her third Best Outside Spiker award alongside La Salle’s Angel Canino, who will collect her second.

The fourth-year Lady Bulldog dominated with 381 ranking points (RP), while Canino followed with 250 RP—just five ahead of Nitura’s 245 RP.

Canino, the Season 85 MVP, ranked second in scoring with 264 points while placing fourth in spiking (35.78 percent success rate), ninth in blocking (0.45 per set), and seventh in reception (41.64 efficiency).

Meanwhile, the Best Middle Blocker honors will remain with La Salle and the University of the Philippines.

After three years of Thea Gagate holding the title, Amie Provido will carry the torch for the Lady Spikers with 179 RP in the closely contested race.

Fighting Maroon Niña Ytang will secure her third straight plum with 166 RP.

Provido and Ytang ranked second and third in blocking, respectively, with 30 total blocks apiece and averages of 0.55 and 0.54 per set.

Although University of the East’s Riza Nogales, who finished third with 161 RP, topped the blocking department with 45 total and 0.92 per set, Provido and Ytang outperformed her in the attacking and serving categories, explaining the RP gap.

La Salle’s Shevana Laput will be honored as the Best Opposite Spiker with an overwhelming 275 RP almost a hundred more than University of Santo Tomas’ Regina Jurado.

The 6-foot-2 Lady Spiker ranked second in spiking efficiency at 37.43 percent while also placing second in service with 22 total aces and 0.40 per set. She also utilized her height by ranking fifth in blocks with a 0.51 average per frame.

Completing the individual awards, NU’s Camilla Lamina emerged as the Best Setter, and La Salle’s Lyka De Leon will be recognized as the Best Libero.

Lamina edged out UST’s Cassie Carballo in RP, 185-177, by leading the setting category with a 5.34 average per set compared to the latter’s 4.89 per frame. Other metrics like blocking, serving, and digging were close, but the setting numbers sealed the win.

Lamina will become a two-time Best Setter after first claiming the award in her rookie year during Season 84.

It was also a tight contest between De Leon and Golden Tigress and two-time winner Detdet Pepito in the Best Libero race, with RP tallies of 210-202.

De Leon topped the reception department with a 47.31 percent efficiency rate and rank fourth in digs with 2.84 per set, while Pepito finished second in digs with 3.96 and fourth in receptions with a 42.38 success rate.

On the other hand, Kennedy Batas of Ateneo de Manila University will emerge as the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Volleyball Tournament Most Valuable Player after a tightly-contested race among the top five.

The 23-year-old Blue Eagle rose to the top with 79.815 statistical points (SP), barely surpassing De La Salle University’s Noel Kampton (74.906 SP) and the University of Santo Tomas troika of JJ Macam (74.681 SP), two-time MVP Josh Ybañez (74.255 SP), and Popoy Colinares (71.064 SP).

Batas tallied the second-most points after the elimination round with 263 markers while ranking fourth in spiking with a 44.79 percent success rate and fourth in aces with an average of 0.30 per set.

Aside from scoring, Batas placed fifth in reception with a 50.56 percent efficiency and eighth in digging with 1.35 per set.

This will be Batas’ first individual award of any kind in the UAAP.

The recognition will be bestowed prior to Game 2 of the best-of-three Finals between Far Eastern University and National University on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Macam, who placed third in the MVP race, will be named Rookie of the Year after ranking 15th in scoring with 146 points. He finished as the sixth-most efficient spiker with a 42.75 percent success rate and the second-best server with a 0.36 average.

Batas and Macam will also be awarded the Best Outside Spiker honors with 289 and 259 ranking points (RP), respectively.

Colinares and Adamson University’s Leo Coguimbal will take home the Best Middle Blocker awards with 227 and 182 RP, respectively.

Colinares finished second in blocks with a 0.70 average per set and 33 total, while also placed third in aces with 17 total and a 0.36 average per frame.

Coguimbal, meanwhile, led in blocks by a wide margin with 46 total and a 0.87 average per set.

Ateneo’s Amil Pacinio will win the Best Opposite Spiker trophy after ranking fifth in scoring with 198 points and performing well in other departments.

Pacinio tallied 224 RP as he registered a league-best 22 aces on a 0.41 per set average. He was also be eighth in spiking with a 41.07 percent success rate.

Rounding out the awardees will be UST’s Dux Yambao as Best Setter and La Salle’s Menard Guerrero as Best Libero.

Yambao topped the playmakers’ race with 180 RP thanks to his league-leading 5.85 excellent sets per frame.

On the other hand, Guerrero will claim his second straight award after leading the reception department with a 58.16 percent efficiency while also placing fourth in digs with 2.32 per set.