Kim Kianna Dy was overwhelmed with emotions letting the personal triumph of returning to action after more than a year of absence due to a knee injury sink in following her PLDT debut.

After 559 days of wait, the veteran winger finally stepped back on the court — albeit briefly — in the fourth set of the High Speed Hitters’ 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22 win over sister team Cignal in the 2024-2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference Tuesday night.

Dy was showered with cheers and applause by the crowd inside the Philsports Arena in Pasig City when she entered the court as a reliever in the fourth frame with PLDT up, 16-7.

“Biggest change, I guess as a player, I’ve been more patient with myself because the journey of me being here right now wasn’t really easy. It’s been a hard year,” Dy said while shedding tears during the postgame interview.

The 29-year-old spiker was scoreless but did get a few spikes to the delight of PLDT faithful who patiently waited for Dy’s return.

“Of course, super excited. I mean, I haven’t played the game for a year now,” she said.

Dy suffered a serious knee injury on 20 July 2023 while playing for the defunct F2 Logistics during the round-robin Invitational Conference semifinals. PLDT signed her after the Cargo Movers announced their disbandment in December 2023 despite her condition.

Head coach Rald Ricafort admitted that fielding Dy wasn’t part of their game plan but he indulged the 5-foot-10 spiker to give her confidence. It was a little reward for Dy’s dedication and patience in her lengthy recovery.

“We are just slowly incorporating her into the team. But we got an opportunity to field her a bit earlier. So, we’re happy she’s back,” Ricafort said.

“She went through a hard and complicated process of recovery. We’ve been very patient in her return. We want her to be in top form in her comeback. Hopefully, she will continue to recover.”

Dy is now focused on working toward full recovery and contributing to her new club, which sports a 5-3 win-loss record.

“I’m still trying to get to my 100 percent and I’m slowly getting there,” she said.

“It hasn’t been easy, but thankfully, my teammates and my coaches make it easier for me.”