MANILA, Philippines – Adamson University head coach Airess Padda is calling on other members of her team to step up and help skipper Jema Galanza, as she believes their star spiker is starting to get frustrated by their losing ways.

Eight games into the UAAP Season 79 women's volleyball tournament, Adamson has won just one set – the second frame of their four-set loss to University of the East. Galanza, hands down, has been Adamson's first – at times second and third option – on offense, and she has scored a total of 79 points so far in the season.

However, Adamson's next leading scorer, Bernadette Flora, has mustered only 57 points through eight games, and other Lady Falcons are similarly ineffective in easing the burden on their captain.

"I warned her that this season is going to be really tough for her, because she's going to have to carry us," Padda said of Galanza, one of the few players on the Adamson squad who saw significant minutes in Season 78.

"Even though she's the best player on our team, there are going to be games where's she's not going to look like that, because our team… sometimes, I feel like we drown her," Padda admitted.

The American coach, who is in her first year of handling the Lady Falcons, lauded Galanza for her leadership and said the fourth-year star has been dealing well with all the pressure.

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"She's always so positive," Padda said. "She's always talking to the girls, and trying to help."

"But," she added, "I can tell she's starting to get drained."

This is why Padda is hoping that her other players will start to take more of the responsibility as the season goes along, even though most of them are playing in the UAAP for the first time.

"She needs help," Padda said of Galanza. "She needs people to step up and carry the load with her."

Despite their losing record, Galanza has remained upbeat and has repeatedly stressed to her teammates that they need not feel pressured.

"Kung ano 'yung ginagawa natin sa training, gawin natin sa loob ng court," Galanza said of her advice to her younger teammates.

[What we do in training, that's what we should do inside the court.]

Moreover, the captain insists she is seeing improvements in her team. They took a set off UE in their last game of the first round, and then stayed within striking distance of National University in their first game of the second round, before fading down the stretch.

"Tuloy-tuloy pa rin kami. Hindi kami lalayo, kasi may improvements na," said Galanza.

"Yung skills nasa kanila na dapat ilabas nalang nila sa loob ng court. Tuloy-tuloy lang din yung saya and positive energy sa court," she added.

[We'll keep going. I'm already seeing improvements, and they should try to show their skills inside the court. We should also keep playing with happiness and positive energy inside the court.]

Adamson will try for its first win on Sunday against a slumping Far Eastern University squad.

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