CVIRAA 2024: Negros Oriental high schooler starts journey to her dream one spike at a time

CEBU, Philippines – For 17-year-old Kassandra Abejero of Siaton town, Negros Oriental province, each volleyball game is a “spike” closer to realizing her dream of playing with her idols in the professional league.

In their first game at the ongoing Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) meet in Cebu on Sunday, May 5, Abejero was named the player of the game, scoring 14 points in their match against the Siquijor division team.

Negros Oriental swept Siquijor, 25-14, 25-22, with Abejero lifting her team in the tight second set.

During the match, Abejero floated above the net multiple times, raining spikes on their opponents.

Madelfa Carillo, the winning coach, told Rappler it was not easy to prepare for the 2024 CVIRAA meet.

“We had an in-house training, where for 15 days, we housed them and did our training and drills together,” Carillo said.

Carillo said Abejero has been a volleyball player for a long time. Because of her talent, Abejero’s younger sister had followed in her footsteps and joined their team.

“Since Grade 6, para na gyud ni nako (Since I was ni Grade 6, I knew this was for me),” Abejero told Rappler.

When asked what were her dreams, Abejero said that she wanted to one day play college volleyball for Ateneo de Manila University just like her idol Alyssa Valdez.

Currently, Abejero is taking the Technical Vocational Livelihood (TVL) strand at the Sumaliring High School.

The coach said their next game will be against Dumaguete, which she said was a “strong” team. 

Nevertheless, Carillo said her athletes can push themselves even higher than their performance in the previous match.

Abejero, on the other hand, has a word to describe her journey to reach the professional leagues: Puhon, which means, “in God’s due time”. – Rappler.com