Risa Sato

Risa Sato (佐藤 理沙) is a Filipina-Japanese volleyball player who is currently living in the Philippines. She played in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines for the NU Lady Bulldogs and is currently playing in the Premier Volleyball League for the Creamline Cool Smashers.

Early life
Risa Sato was born on October 4, 1994 in Osaka, Japan where she also spent her childhood. Her mother is Filipino while her father is Japanese. Sato played volleyball at school in Japan. She left Japan at age 19 along with her mother to pursue her dream to play in the Philippines.

Career
Sato was brought to the Philippines in 2013 to play for the collegiate varsity team of the Ateneo de Manila University by Roger Gorayeb, who was then coach of the university. She played for Ateneo as a guest player in the Shakey's V-League. However she failed to get admitted to Ateneo due to failing the entrance examinations which was written in English. In August 2015, she underwent try-outs to play for the National University which by that time was already being mentored by Gorayeb. By July 2017 she was already playing for the National University where she is a second year college student pursuing a degree in sports and wellness management. By the same time she was already playing for the BaliPure Purest Water Defenders of the Premier Volleyball League. She won the Premier Volleyball League 1st Season Collegiate Conference championship with NU Lady Bulldogs.

During her collegiate career, she won the following individual awards: 1st best middle blocker (2017 PVL reinforced conference), 2nd best middle blocker (2017 PVL open conference), 2nd best middle blocker (2017 PVL collegiate conference)

National team
Sato made her international debut playing for the Philippine youth national team at the 2015 Asian Women's U23 Volleyball Championship which was hosted in Pasig. She was also part of the senior team squad that played in the 2015 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup, an invitational tournament held in Vietnam.

Personal life
By July 2017, Sato's mother who came with her when she moved to the Philippines had long returned to Osaka to join her dad. One of her sisters is also studying in the Philippines and she is occasionally visited by her cousins from Laguna.

Clubs

 * BaliPure Purest Water Defenders (2016–2017)
 * Creamline Cool Smashers (2018–present)

Individuals

 * 2017 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference "1st Best Middle Blocker"
 * 2017 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference "2nd Best Middle Blocker"
 * 2017 Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference "2nd Best Middle Blocker"

Collegiate

 * Shakey's V-League 12th Season Collegiate Conference – [[File:Med 2.png]] Silver medal, with Ateneo Lady Eagles
 * Shakey's V-League 13th Season Collegiate Conference – [[Image:Med 1.png]] Champion, with NU Lady Bulldogs
 * UAAP Season 77 Women's volleyball tournament – [[Image:Med 3.png]] Bronze medal, with NU Lady Bulldogs
 * 2017 Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference – [[Image:Med 1.png]] Champion, with NU Lady Bulldogs