Aby Maraño is an easily recognizable figure in Philippine volleyball lore.

Colorful hair clips. The intensity inside the court. The fire in her eyes. Her signature glare that could melt steel and fiery passion.

Maraño has long transcended the boundaries of being merely a volleyball player.

Love her or hate her, Maraño has already cemented her legacy.

When the decorated middle blocker contacted DAILY TRIBUNE days before her biggest career move, Maraño was already turning the pages of a new chapter.

It was not “Tyang Aby” doing the usual interview, but a friend confiding in the acceptance that there’s more to life outside the four corners of the volleyball court.

“I’m retiring from professional volleyball,” the voice on the other end of the line said.

The words came out, cracking with deep breaths in between.

Over two decades of playing competitive volleyball have come to an end for one of the country’s brightest stars.

“I’m retiring not because I lost love for the sport; instead, I’m ready for a different purpose and a different way of serving. I understand that there is life outside the four corners of the court. And the chapters of playing and competing in the book of life for us athletes have an end,” the 33-year-old Maraño said.

“Although volleyball shaped me in all aspects of life, at the end of the day, playing is not forever — there is more to life than this sport, too. So yeah, I guess this is it. I have made peace in my heart already. My love for volleyball will always remain,” she added.

“I will continue to support the sport, the athletes, and the development of volleyball in whatever capacity I can. I am definitely taking everything I learned through the years of playing volleyball, the discipline, resilience, confidence, the sense of teamwork and ability to work under pressure with me into this new chapter of my life.”

Beast mode don’t care

Maraño’s narrative traces back to being an unpolished high school gem from Don Antonio de Zuzuarregui Sr. Memorial Academy.

Then came her biggest break when she was tapped to undergo the grueling, unforgiving training ground of De La Salle University under the masterful and demanding eye of legendary tactician Ramil de Jesus.

“I’m also very proud of the years I spent with La Salle, that organization gave me so many opportunities, friendships, teammates that turned to be my lifelong sisters, experiences, and lessons that helped shape the person I am today,” she said.

Five years with the green and white turned Maraño to a household name.

Her time in Taft produced a three-peat and a pair of silver medals in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. Maraño also won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in 2012 and 2013.

‘I’m retiring not because I lost love for the sport; instead, I’m ready for a different purpose and a different way of serving. I understand that there is life outside the four corners of the court. And the chapters of playing and competing in the book of life for us athletes have an end.’

It’s a big part of my career being a player of Coach Ramil de Jesus. He became a huge part of my journey as an athlete, a leader and as a person. That’s one experience in my career that I will always treasure, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Maraño said.

It was in La Salle that the moniker "Beast Mode Don’t Care" was born. Maraño was not just a player; she was the team’s emotional barometer.

When the Lady Spikers needed a jolt of energy, they did not look to the scoreboard; they looked at their captain.

She injected swagger into the game, which became her true collegiate legacy.

Maraño taught an entire generation of athletes that it is absolutely acceptable for women to be loud, aggressive, and intimidating on the playing field.

Her piercing glares across the net and her theatrical celebrations were never about disrespect; they were a psychological masterclass in owning the moment. She normalized the female sports competitor as a warrior and an unbothered soul.

She brought that swag and winning culture to her commercial league career, where she won six titles and eight Best Middle Blocker awards in the defunct Philippine Superliga.

Maraño played for AirAsia, PLDT, Meralco, Generika, Petron, Philippine Army, Foton, and F2 Logistics in the PSL. She was with F2 Logistics when it moved up to the professional rank and joined the Premier Volleyball League.

After F2 Logistics disbanded, Maraño transferred to Chery Tiggo and then to Nxled before calling it quits in September 2026 for a commercial career that spanned 12 years.

Maraño joined the national squad in 2015 and was named captain. She retired from her tour of duty in 2023. The 5-foot-9 player was part of the national team that won bronze in the 2019 ASEAN Grand Prix, appeared in the Southeast Asian Games from 2015 to 2021 and skippered the squad that finished eighth in the 2018 Asian Games.

“Wearing the Philippine jersey and playing for our country is something that I will always carry with me. There’s a different kind of responsibility when you’re not just playing for yourself or for a club, but you’re playing for the flag and for the Filipino people,” she said.

New world, same passion

Maraño exchanged her volleyball jersey for corporate clothing as an employee of freight and cargo service company, F2 Logistics.

“I’m now with F2 Logistics, which is actually a very meaningful transition for me because F2 has been part of my life for so many years. I spent seven years with F2 as a player,” said Maraño, who played for the company’s Cargo Movers from 2016 until its disbandment in 2023.

Even in the corporate world, Maraño is carrying the same fire and passion with the Tyang Aby attitude but this time a more tamed one.

“What makes it even more meaningful for me is that F2’s purpose goes beyond business. Through its logistics operations, F2 helps move essential goods across the country and reaches communities, even in far-flung areas and during times of calamity,” she said.

“F2 also has the F2 Moving Lives Foundation, which supports education and sports, including grassroots athletes and student-athletes. So, for me, it feels like I am still serving Filipinos, just in a different way.”

Leaving a legacy

“If there is one thing I want to leave behind, it’s the idea that you can change your role without changing your purpose,” Maraño said about what she wants people to remember.

She wants to be remembered as the fire that refused to be extinguished, the leader who carried her teams on her shoulders, and a roaring beast inside the court.

“I also hope that they will remember me not the Tyang riddled with hair clips, not the Tyang who will lift you in an Aby Maraño style whenever you score a point, not the Tyang who is the team captain, not the Tyang Aby that swags on the court, not the Tyang ready to go for the ball. But the Tyang Aby who stands and takes on any life challenges,” she said.

The truest measure of Maraño’s legacy won't be found in the accomplishments under her name.

It will live on in every young girl who steps onto the court, tucks her hair back, squares her shoulders, and plays with fire — reminding everyone that on the taraflex and in life, true greatness belongs to those who dare to stand tall, look the challenge in the eye, and roar.

The game will eventually move on, as it always does. New stars will rise.

But there will always be only one Tyang Aby.