UST volleyball rookie Marga Altea embraces tall order, tough role 

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A freshman standing at 6 feet may be a clear team asset, but UST recruit Marga Altea admits she’s still getting the feel of her new role in UAAP women’s volleyball

MANILA, Philippines – Before the UAAP season tipped off, rookie Marga Altea admits she had hoped to make a quick impact in the UST Golden Tigresses’ bid for the women’s volleyball crown.

Altea expected it to be hard, but didn’t know it was about to get tougher when she was tasked to transition from being a middle blocker into an open spiker.

The 6-foot Altea, after all, felt she knows her strengths, even receiving the Second Best Middle Blocker in high school action last year in the UAAP Season 86 girls’ division. 

“It’s hard [to transition] from a middle since I was not focused much on defense, like receiving, so it has really been a grind since training camp,” Altea said in Filipino. 

“I’m having a hard time, but there’s still work to be done because I won’t be able to play if there’s no hard work,” she added.

With averages of 8.2 points, 2 digs, and 0.6 receptions through her first five outings, Altea once again provided impact in UST’s four-set win against the UP Fighting Maroons,  25-11, 25-23, 23-25, 25-12, on Wednesday, March 5. 

Altea delivered 9 points, scattering her point production via 4 attacks, 2 blocks, and 3 service aces, to help last year’s finalists extend their win streak to four and stay within striking distance of defending champion NU (4-0) with a second-best 4-1 record.

Altea knows she has a lot more to prove, but feels thankful for the Tigresses’ staunch support system.

“As what Ate Reg (Jurado) tells me, ‘Keep working.’ I just want to have a nice performance to be able to help the team, since I was off in the previous games, and I want to show in the games what I can do in practice,” said Altea.

“There’s still self-doubt since it’s really hard to move from middle to open, it really is hard,” she admitted.

“However, I see and feel their support, especially coach Kung Fu (Reyes) who sees something beyond what I see, so he inspires me to do better.” – Rappler.com