Casiey Dongallo. | Facebook Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Cebuana high school volleyball standout Casiey Dongallo continues her ascension to mainstream volleyball after she was selected to represent the country in the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Hanoi, Vietnam this May.
The 16-year old pride of Catmon town, north Cebu told CDN Digital that she is very thankful and greatly honored to be selected to don the country’s tri-colors in the biennial meet.
According to Dongallo, the prized outside hitter of the California Precision Sports (CPS) girls volleyball team, she learned about her inclusion in the national team in an online article on Saturday, January 29.
She and her teammate Jelaica Gajero are the two CPS players who got selected to team up with volleyball superstars Alyssa Valdez and Jia Morado of Creamline in the Philippine team.
“I’m very thankful po and honored to play for the country. It is every player’s dream to be part of the national team,” Dongallo told CDN Digital.
In a separate report from The Inquirer, the initial line-up of the Philippine Women’s National Volleyball Team was revealed through sources privy to the national team’s selection.
Eighteen other players from the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) are also selected to join the national team’s ranks and they will be coached by Brazilian Jorge Edson Souza de Brito.
Dongallo grabbed the mainstream volleyball scene’s attention when she went up toe-to-toe with the best female volleyball players during last November’s Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champion’s League.
The 5-foot-6 Dongallo, a product of the Catmon Integrated School’s vaunted girls elementary volleyball team of teacher/coach Vilma Veloso emerged as the top scorer of the PNVF Champion’s League with 95 points.
When asked about playing alongside superstars like Valdez and Morado, Dongallo admitted that she already felt the pressure.
“Di po mawawala yan, considering also that I am the youngest among the team po,” Dongallo said.
However, she vowed to do her best to contribute to the Philippine Team’s success in the 31st SEA Games.
In the 2019 SEA Games held in Manila, the Philippines finished fourth while world-ranked Thailand clinched the gold medal for the 12th straight time.
“We want to win po, yan naman po ang expectations ng lahat, but I would say it will be a tough game po,” added Dongallo.
Dongallo also revealed that she is also preparing for the 14th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championships in Thailand in June and the 21st Asian Women’s U19 Volleyball Championships in China in July.
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