Sisters on and off the court

On court, Ennajie Laure, UAAP girls’ volleyball Best Spiker, is the happy-go-lucky type while younger sister and teammate Ejiya, the tourney’s Best Setter, is the fiery one.

But this contrast in demeanor and their similar passion for the game help make them a potent combination for the UST volleyball squad.

Ennajie, or EJ to her friends, admitted that her smile is part of her strategy.

“Although we’re down by huge deficits in games, if my teammates see me smiling, they lose their jitters,” the 16-year-old volleybelle said. “When opponents see me like that, they’re thrown off their focus because they get the impression that they can’t break my spirit.”

Ejiya, or Eya, has always been the fierce one.

“Before, whenever I laugh or smile during games, I tend to lose focus,” she said. “But during the finals, I discovered that it’s good to be light sometimes.”

When asked about their plans for college, both expressed interest in continuing their studies in UST. EJ wants to pursue her love for mathematics while Eya is fascinated with architecture.

“I plan on taking up Information Systems in the Faculty of Engineering. Math was never a problem to me,” EJ said.

“I look up to Ate Jessey [de Leon]. She manages her time well even though she’s part of the women’s team and at the same time an architecture student,” Eya said.

Despite being daughters of former Adamson University Falcon turned Alaska Aces player Eddie Laure, both EJ and Eya had no difficulties shifting from basketball to volleyball.

“I eventually fell in love with volleyball because basketball is a contact sport and very physical,” said the 15-year-old Eya.

“After exploring my femininity, I decided to play volleyball because it’s known to be a female sport and my friends were playing, too,” EJ said.

The Rizal Province natives said UST offered them slots in the team after losing key players Alyssa Valdez to Ateneo and Kim Fajardo to La Salle in 2010.

“Our dad had a manager. He looked for schools where there were graduating players. At the time, Valdez and Fajardo were graduating from the UST team,” EJ said.

“While Ate was training and I was watching, coach Emilio Reyes saw me and offered me a spot in the team if I wanted to. Of course, I grabbed the opportunity,” Eya said.

Valdez visited her former team during the do-or-die game in the best-of-three finals between UST and National University, where the black-and-gold squad emerged as champions after four sets.

“What I remember most from what she said was that we’re already here in the Finals so we should give it our all,” Eya recalled.

The UST girls’ volleyball team last won a championship in 2010 when Valdez and Fajardo were still with them.

“It felt good to bring back the crown to UST. Many people were saying that it was time to reclaim the championship. We’re proud that we fulfilled it,” said team captain EJ.

EJ, who will be suiting up for the women’s team in the upcoming Shakey’s V-League conference, told the fans, especially the Thomasians, to never lose support for UST’s volleyball teams.

“Don’t stop supporting volleyball as a sport and its players. Though we don’t have a yellow day for volleyball, we assure you that we will give our best for the community.” Ralph Joshua D.R. Hernandez