Fille Cainglet

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine women’s volleyball is on the rise and one of the main reasons is graduating senior Fille Saint Merced Cainglet of the Ateneo Lady Eagles.

The 5-foot-5 dynamo just concluded her career in UAAP volleyball albeit on a sour note because of a heartbreaking loss against fierce rivals De La Salle Lady Spikers via a 2-0 sweep in the recently concluded UAAP Finals.

Nevertheless, the impact of this soft-spoken lady has rippled through the archipelago with the recent upswing of the sport that saw its fill of overflowing arenas in both the historic Smart Araneta Coliseum and the impressive Mall of Asia Arena.

More popularly known simply as Fille Cainglet, she entered the Ateneo program along fellow seniors Gretchen Ho, Jam Ferrer, Ailyyse Nacachi and Angeline Gervacio and was immediately dubbed as the “Fab Five.” Together, they helped turn the Ateneo program from a nondescript team to serious title contenders as shown by their recent UAAP finals appearances in the last two years.

Cainglet may look like an assuming athlete with her slender build and average height but this Bacolod native is anything but ordinary.

Fans gasp in anticipation every time she majestically jumps in the air with her impressive vertical leap and smooth skills that end with a kill most of the time.

Fille has proven to be a gifted athlete because of her numerous awards in the high school level, winning three MVP awards in the Women’s Volleyball League (WVL) for the St. Scholastica College-Manila Scions.

This 23-year-old volleybelle has carved her own niche and has proven to be one of the most popular players in the volleyball landscape, with throngs of fans waiting for her after every game to take a picture or ask for her autograph.

Despite the end of Fille’s UAAP career, fans should not be dismayed because she will be likely playing in the next season of the Shakey’s V-league, going on record that she wants to play the sport she loves for a long time.