Battle-hardened winger Jovelyn Gonzaga makes a comeback to indoor volleyball as she reunites with Cignal for the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference kicking off next month.
The HD Spikers officially announced the return of the veteran opposite hitter to their fold after three years in a social media post Wednesday.
Sgt. Gonzaga reporting for Team Awesome duty 😎
Like and follow our pages for more updates! #AwesomeNation
IG: cignal_hdspikers
FB: Cignal HD Spikers pic.twitter.com/I6blmNd8SK— Cignal HD Spikers (@cignalHDspiker) May 31, 2023
Gonzaga’s presence adds not just firepower at the wing but also another leader inside the court alongside team captain Rachel Anne Daquis.
The 31-year-old lefty played for Cignal from 2017 to 2020 in the defunct Philippine Superliga.
She was instrumental in the HD Spikers’ title run in the 2017 PSL Invitational Cup where she was named tournament Most Valuable Player. Gonzaga also led Cignal to a runner-up finish in the 2019 All-Filipino Conference and a third place finish in the following Invitational Conference.
The Ilongga hitter last saw action in the PVL back in the 2021 Open Conference playing for Black Mamba Army.
She then decided to focus on her beach volleyball career where she led the national team to a bronze medal finish in the 2021 Hanoi Southeast Asian Games before partnering with Sisi Rondina to capture the Subic Bay leg of the 2022 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.
In her Cignal homecoming, Gonzaga will be working on a familiar system under former national indoor women’s team head coach Shaq delos Santos.
Signing Gonzaga was the latest move of the HD Spikers in the mid-season recruitment race following the acquisition of Ateneo de Manila University standout Vanie Gandler.
Cignal now has an even more formidable attacking crew with Gonzaga, Daguis, Gandler, Cha Trongcoso and Ces Molina in the rotation.
PVL clubs have been busy beefing up their respective rosters with F2 Logistics bringing in De La Salle University stars Mars Alba and Jolina Dela Cruz along with Jovelyn Fernandez of Far Eastern University.
Chery Tiggo stacked its lineup with fresh recruits Eya Laure and Imee Hernandez from University of Santo Tomas and the National University trio of Jen Nierva, Joyme Cagande and Ces Robles while Akari tapped Ateneo’s Faith Nisperos.
