By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense volleybelle Alyssa Bertolano will be playing for her second team in her rookie year in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) after signing a deal with the Farm Fresh Foxies.

The former University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons standout formalized her move to the Foxies earlier this week after starting her PVL career with the Quezon City Gerflor Defenders.

“The Farm Fresh family continues to grow as we welcome outside hitter Alyssa Bertolano into the fold. We hope to see you prosper and shine brighter in your new home, Foxy,” Farm Fresh said in a Facebook post.

The Negros Occidental’s Talisay City-native Bertolano is one of the bright spots for the Defenders in the PVL Invitational Conference, but her squad did not taste a win in four matches.

Aside from Bertolano, another former Defender in Justine Dorog, has signed with the Foxies over the weekend, as the team hopes to have a better campaign in the upcoming PVL All-Filipino Conference.

“We need offense. We need solid first balls. But more than anything, we need a veteran to guide the young players. And this one fits the bill perfectly. Farm Fresh welcomes Justine Dorog as the newest Foxy,” the team said in a social media post.

Dorog, also a former Fighting Maroons player, will be reuniting with her former college head coach Jerry Yee at Farm Fresh while also teaming up with her younger sister Jessa Dorog.

Meanwhile, the Petro Gazz Angels also made an offseason move as they signed defensive specialist Babylove Barbon, who opened her PVL career with the Foton Tornadoes last conference.

Barbon was a former University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses women’s beach volleyball team star before deciding to turn professional earlier this year. She will be the third libero in the squad aside from Cienne Cruz and Jellie Tempiatura.

Angels head coach Oliver Almadro is hoping to bounce back in the upcoming All-Filipino conference after falling short of reaching the playoffs round in the mid-season invitational conference./ASC, WDJ