Cantada leads outstanding athletes in Girls Volleyball

c/o UAAP

FOR the second consecutive season, the UAAP High School Girls’ Volleyball Most Valuable Player hails from Adamson University.

Sam Cantada was named the UAAP Season 87 MVP after leading the Lady Baby Falcons to back-to-back Finals appearances in the girls' volleyball tournament. 

Last season, Shaina Nitura became the first-ever MVP from Adamson, marking a historic achievement for the school.

The 5-foot-7 outside spiker from Dasmariñas, Cavite was the tournament’s leading scorer after the elimination round, amassing 180 points through 134 attacks (on 34.01% efficiency), 14 blocks, and a league-leading 32 aces. She also ranked as the seventh-best receiver with 20.57% efficiency.

“For me po talaga, itong Season MVP po na ‘to ay kine-credit ko po sa buong team kasi di ko naman po ‘to makukuha nang wala pong collective efforts po nila,” said the 17-year-old during the awarding ceremony held after Adamson’s Game 2 loss to National University Nazareth School on Saturday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavillion Arena.

Cantada's teammate, Ellaine Gonzalvo, earned the Rookie of the Year honors.

Joining Cantada in the UAAP Mythical Team are University of Santo Tomas' Avil Bron and Lianne Penuliar (Best Middle Blockers); National University Nazareth School’s Den Daylisan (2nd Best Outside Spiker); FEU-Diliman’s Aleah Devosora (Best Opposite Spiker); Sheena Cafe (Best Setter); and De La Salle-Zobel’s Angel Cenizal (Best Libero).

Bron and Penuliar anchored the Junior Golden Tigresses' defense, with Bron leading the league in blocks at 0.66 per set and Penuliar tying for second with 0.57 per set.

Daylisan was the second-best scorer after the elimination round, tallying 144 points, highlighted by her 33.43% attack success rate and 0.71 aces per set. She also ranked sixth in receiving with a 22.29% efficiency.

Devosora ranked third in scoring with 144 points, placing sixth in attack success rate at 31.75%, sixth in blocks with 0.38 per set, and eighth in service aces with 0.50.

Cafe was the top setter, averaging 2.86 excellent sets per set, while also placing 26th in scoring with 51 points.

Cenizal led the league in both digs (3.78 per set) and receiving efficiency (34.2%).