Vanie Gandler adds one more thing to Coach O's mantra for the Blue Eagles.
358,560 minutes, 358,560 moments so dear...
There's 249 days between the time the National University Lady Bulldogs won the championship in UAAP Season 84 and the start of the Season 85 women's volleyball season.
For the Ateneo Blue Eagles, it was a welcome time to train and prepare. Coach Oliver Almadro has drilled the mantra of faith, trust, and courage with the Blue Eagles, but outside hitter Vanie Gandler wants to add one more thing.
"I would say it would be love," she told the UAAP Varsity Channel. "If we love what we do, and we love the people we are fighting for, we can do great things."
The Ateneo Blue Eagles had started from scratch in Season 84, after a successful title run in Seasons 76, 77, and 81. When volleyball season resumed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Faith Nisperos and the Blue Eagles powered through with an 8-6 record in the elimination round, eliminated the Adamson Lady Falcons in the fourth seed playoff, weathered the UST Golden Tigresses in round one of the stepladder semifinals, only to fall against the second seed La Salle Lady Archers.
"Last season, we fell short. But we also made it further than everyone expected," Gandler admitted. "This time around, we have more experience coming to the season, more time to prepare. We're gonna use that experience to hopefully make it further this season."
Gandler, who was rated the seventh best scorer after the preliminaries, with 174 points coming off 161 spikes, six blocks, and seven aces, is asking one thing from the Ateneo community.
"Love will always be one of the greatest supports that we can get," she said. "I assure you that we're gonna fight with all our heart and we're not gonna give up."
That vow will be immediately put to the test on February 25, 2 PM as they face defending champions NU at the Mall of Asia Arena.