When the University of the East returned to the court for UAAP women's volleyball in April of the previous year after the hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all attention was on one of its setters because of her familiar surname.
Despite the win-loss record, Von Dimaculangan demonstrated flashes of brilliance for the Lady Warriors. Therefore, it was surprising when the playmaker was excluded from the lineup for the following season.
Fast forward to the 2023 V-League Collegiate Challenge, the upstart hailing from Quezon was seen displaying her skills with the San Sebastian College-Recoletos. As it turned out, her decision was the result of soul-searching.
"One of my uncles is a professor at Baste (referring to SSC-R). He suggested that I approach coach Roger [Gorayeb], but I initially chose to remain in the UAAP. However, during the first semester, I reflected and eventually decided to transfer for my self-growth," Dimaculangan explained.
"I realized that being under coach Roger's guidance would lead to improvement, and so far, it's going well. I'm gaining his trust."
Dimaculangan also admitted that transitioning from one side of Recto to the other wasn't as difficult as expected.
"At first, I was a bit shy and reserved, but eventually, I got along well with my new teammates because they embraced me with open arms," she said.
Last Friday, the new Lady Stag faced her former team, the Lady Warriors, and unfortunately, her new team lost in three sets: 14-25, 19-25, 14-25.
However, Dimaculangan shrugged it off and is now shifting her focus to her new home, as she becomes eligible to join the squad in the next season of the NCAA.
She shared, "We're getting there; we're correcting mistakes in every game. In our first game, we struggled with service reception. But in these past two games, our service reception has improved. We just need that finishing touch and composure on the court.
"Our team consists mostly of new recruits since some players joined just a few months ago. We're using this V-League experience to become better, and we're confident that when the NCAA season comes, we can perform well. We really needed this exposure in different leagues," Dimaculangan added.
The primary factor, during that time, for her decision was the very reason she exchanged the "Red and White" for gold.
"We have trust in coach Roger's system. Naturally, it's coach Roger, and we take everything he says to heart so that we can develop as a team."
