The extra hours spent in the gym and the sacrifices finally paid off for Majoy Baron as La Salle’s middle hitter beat the league’s established stars to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.
For her consistent showing, the 20-year-old Baron, a native of Tarlac, edged out teammate Kim Fajardo, veteran spiker Jaja Santiago of National University, and Ateneo hitter Michelle Morente for the league’s highest individual award.
The formal ceremony will be held in Game 2 of the title series on Saturday.
It was Baron’s second individual award after clinching the Best Blocker plum last year.
Though beaten for the coveted award, the 6-foot-5 Santiago, nevertheless, won three awards – Best Scorer, Best Spiker, and Best Blocker, while Fajardo emerged as the Best Setter and Best Server of the season.
University of the East’s Kathleen Faith Arado snared the Best Digger Award, La Salle’s libero Dawn Macandili won the Best Receiver trophy, and Jules Samonte pocketed the Rookie of the Year Award.
There were no surprises in the men’s side as Ateneo’s Marck Espejo won the MVP award for the fourth straight time.
He also bagged the Best Scorer and Best Spiker titles.
Also to be honored are Far Eastern University’s John Paul Bugaoan (Best Blocker) and Rikko Marmeto (Best Receiver), National University’s Bryan Bagunas (Best Server) and Ricky Marcos (Best Digger), and Ateneo’s Ish Polvorosa (Best Setter) and Chumason Njigha (Rookie of the Year).