Jheck Dionela shared on 'Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96’ that way before she had earned her niche in the volleyball community, she was first greeted by plenty of rejections and failures.
The 4-foot-11 libero tried out for Perpetual women’s volleyball team and was initially turned down due to lack of experience and an unathletic physique.
But she persisted and came back the next day.
“When I was starting, I really did not have enough knowledge of the sport and I was not that athletic and very uncoordinated,” she said on Monday.
“So I was rejected and my feeling back then was how come I was already out when they haven’t seen my full potential. So I did not accept it. I did not agree.”
She again tried her luck and still not getting the ‘yes’ she was hoping for, Dionela told the coaching staff if she could just apply as someone who picks up the ball during team training.
“I told them I wanted to continue even if it’s just picking up the ball. And they agreed since they really need that person to get the ball.”
Since then, Dionela said she had been training everyday to keep up with the program and just in her rookie and sophomore year, she was awarded the Best Digger.
“I know I was not that skilled but I make up for it with my perseverance,” she said.
Currently, Dionela is suiting up for Cignal in PVL and is touted as one of the most promising defensive specialists of her generation who has a host of personal accolades including the 2017 PSL Invitational Best Libero, and the 2017 and 2019 PSL All-Filipino Best Libero.
“Even though I’m not with Perps anymore, the values they taught me are still with me,” she added.
Watch GMA Synergy's 'Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96' every weekday (2:45 p.m.), Saturdays (4:30 p.m.), and Sundays (5:05 p.m.) on GTV.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News
