BIRADORA OF THE WEEK- ISA MOLDE

Photo by Tiebreaker times.com

Name: Maria Lina Isabel Molde
School: University of the Philippines
Height: 5'6"
Position: Open Spiker

Bakit siya ang aking napiling ifeature?

First is because she is a consistent scorer of her team and second because she's just a rookie but evidently plays as a veteran. Maria Lina Isabel Molde or better known as Isa Molde, is just one of the eight rookies playing for UP Lady Maroons. When I first watched her play last Shakey's V-League Competition where they bagged the 3rd place, I was amazed due to the fact that she was able to angle her spikes well and her attacks were also powerful. She also used her smarts when playing due to the fact that she could contribute points through spike variations like drop ball, off-speed and top-spin. Not to mention that she also delivers to her team via offensive blocks and a decent floor defender too.

Now on UAAP, I promised myself that I will keep my eye on her so that I can be able to see what kind of wonders she can bring to her squad. During their first game against UE Lady Warriors, I presumed that she will already show her skills to UAAP fans but unfortunately, it seemed that it was a bad day for her. She only contributed few points. But things suddenly changed when they fought DLSU Lady Spikers. Even though I could not expect them to win due to the fact that they were a younger team compared to veteran La Salle players, I became happy since they managed to get a set to them and that was because of Isa Molde, who finally show her prowess on spiking.

Isa Molde also led her team on their next game against the defending champions, Ateneo Lady Eagles but she later became powerless like her other dependable rookie teammates like Justine Dorog and Diana Carlos, making them bow down to Ateneo in straight sets.

Finally, their game against Adamson came (I consider this team as equal to UP). Just as I thought, it was a great seesaw battle and a showdown between Molde and Galanza and Carlos and Paat as well but in the end it was UP who brought home the bacon. Isa Molde amidst the trashtalking she experienced from Adamson's Alkuino and Dacoron still played her game and ended up being the best player of the game with 23 points ( 18 spikes, 3 blocks, 2 service aces) and take note with 11 excellent digs also which only proved her versatility.

Watch some of her spikes on this video to see for yourself, the skills she's hiding on her sleeves.
0:10- Isa Molde down-the-line spike, 3:26- Isa Molde targets the zone 1, 4:02- Isa Molde's solid hit

Video courtesy of ABS-CBN Sports and Action

She also showed her blocking skill on this video  (2:04- Molde blocks Adorador)

Video courtesy of ABS-CBN Sports and Action

Indeed, I see the future of UAAP Volleyball or more specifically the future of UP when it comes to volleyball because they got really good and promising rookies like Aiesha Gannaban, Justine Dorog, Diana Carlos and most especially, Isabel Molde. These girls will be UP's firepower for the next four years.

P.S.

With all honesty, I like all the UP rookies and they are all playing superbly but I don't know why I like Isabel Molde to win the Rookie of the Year Award. Maybe because I can see her as an MVP someday or maybe because I was hooked with her maturity and versatility when it comes on playing volleyball. Who knows?

-fin-