Filipino volleyball player (born 1995)
Julia Melissa "Jia" Morado-De Guzman (born May 10, 1995) is a Filipino volleyball player. She was a member of the Ateneo Lady Eagles and was team's captain in the UAAP Season 79 Women's Volleyball tournament. In 2018 Jia was also a member of the Philippines Women's National Volleyball Team.
Career
She also played in the 2012 Palarong Pambansa and led the NCR Team to a championship, where she also won the Best Setter award.[1]
Morado was the setter of the Philippine team for the 2015 Asian Women's U23 Volleyball Championship[2] and in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.[3] She was Ateneo Lady Eagles team captain for the UAAP Season 79.
On May 6, 2017, Morado announced that she will not be returning to the Ateneo Lady Eagles in UAAP Season 80.[4][5] On June 17, 2017, ABS-CBN Sports announced that Morado will join the Creamline Cool Smashers as part of the team's build up for the inaugural Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.[6] She worked as Ateneo Lady Eagles assistant coach during the Premier Volleyball League 1st Season Collegiate Conference.[7]
Morado won the most valuable player award in the 2017 Battle of the Rivals.[8] She won the best setter award in the 2017 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference.[9]
In 2018, together with her team, the Creamline Cool Smashers, won the championship of the 2018 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference[10] and was awarded best setter[11] and finals' Most Valuable Player.[10] And at the end of the 2018 PVL season, Jia won the back-to-back championships, best setter and finals' most valuable player awards.[12][13]
On August 31, 2023, Morado signed a deal with the Denso Airybees of the Japan V.League Division 1 as a bench import for the first time in her volleyball career.[14] She will be the 2nd Filipino volleyball player bench import, after her former school and teammate Alyssa Valdez.
Personal life
Morado was born in Manila to Ariel and Hedy Morado. She has three siblings, two sisters and one brother. All the girls played varsity-level volleyball. An older sister, Jessica Katrina, who also played for the Ateneo Women's Volleyball Team from 2007 to 2012, was the one who convinced the younger Jia to pursue volleyball. Her other older sister, Jamie Marielle, played for the UST Golden Tigresses volleyball team as a libero.[15] Her brother, Ariel Jr. "Bok", also plays volleyball as a setter for Ateneo de Manila Men's Volleyball Team. Upon pursuing volleyball, she became a multi-awarded athlete and a full-time student at the Ateneo de Manila University where she graduated with degree of BS in Psychology.[16] She graduated high school at the Colegio San Agustin – Makati.
She is married to Miguel De Guzman on November 11, 2021, after being in a relationship for six years.[17][18] De Guzman is a businessman who was a former baseball player for De La Salle Santiago Zobel School. They both attended Ateneo de Manila University.[19]
