MANILA, Philippines — Several of the top players in the country, along with some of the most promising youngsters, showed up at the Arellano Law School Gym on Thursday to participate in the tryout for the national women’s volleyball team.

A total of 37 players attended the event, organized by the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. (LVPI), and overseen by national team coach Shaq delos Santos and his staff.

Leading the way were the mainstays of the senior team, including team captain Aby Maraño, star spiker Alyssa Valdez, and ace setter Jia Morado.

Also there were: Kianna Dy, Majoy Baron, Dawn Macandili, Mika Reyes, Cha Cruz-Behag, Denden Lazaro, Ces Molina, Jema Galanza, Risa Sato, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Mylene Paat — all of whom represented the Philippines in various competitions last year.

The LVPI had called for a tryout to expand the national team pool, as the Philippines is set to compete in a number of international events this year.

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The Philippines will be competing in the AVC Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in China from ‪April 20-28‬ followed by the 3rd Asian Women’s U23 Women’s Volleyball Championship in Vietnam from ‪July 13-21.‬

They will then see action in the 20th Asian Senior Women’s Championship in South Korea ‪from August 31-September 8‬, before competing in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, which the country will host from November 30 to December 10.

Among the youngsters who showed up were University of Santo Tomas rookie Eya Laure and the De La Salle-Zobel pair of Angel Canino and Alleiah Malaluan.

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