Former Philippine national team member Jaja Santiago, now known as Sachi “Jaja” Minowa, is taking her talent to the United States after signing with San Francisco Signal for the 2027 League One Volleyball (LOVB) season.
Before acquiring her Japanese citizenship, Sachi represented the Philippines three times at the Southeast Asian Games and once at the Asian Games.
The middle blocker played in the Japan SV.League for many years and even earned the Best Middle Blocker award during her time with Osaka Marvelous.
Sachi also played for the Ageo Medics during her rookie year in Japan and the Denso Airybees for her final year before announcing her move to the US.
Her upcoming appearance in the 2027 LOVB season was first confirmed by her husband and Japanese coach Taka Minowa.
Asian volleyball stars set to shine
Aside from Sachi Minowa, Thailand’s decorated setter Pornpun “Chompoo” Guedpard was also part of the 14 athletes announced by Signal on Thursday who will play in the 2027 LOVB season.
“Chompoo” is already a popular name in the American volleyball scene after playing for the Orlando Valkyries during the 2026 Major League Volleyball season.
Meanwhile, China’s popular libero Wang Mengjie will also play for the San Francisco team next year.
The two-time Olympian is expected to provide steady defence and reception for the team.
Wang is only the second Chinese player to join the LOVB competition after LOVB Madison signed national team captain Gong Xiangyu during the 2025 season.
European players Halimatou Bah (France), Giorgia Faraone (Italy) will also be suiting up for the squad.
Completing San Francisco’s line-up are local stars Kelsey Cook, Kari Geissberger, Julia Haggerty, Madeline Haynes, Carter Booth, Serena Gray, Kara Hallock, Allison Jacobs, and Ella May Powell.
“Each player brings a distinct set of experiences, strengths and perspectives to our team,” Signal head coach Alfee Reft said in a statement.
“Our work now is to bring them together, build trust and connection, and create a team identity that reflects both how we want to compete and what we want to represent.
I’m excited to begin that work and build a team that the Bay Area will be proud to call its own.”
MORE VOLLEYBALL NEWS: Poland and Argentina set new volleyball record in VNL
Expansion team
The San Francisco Signal is part of LOVB’s expansion franchise as the league continues to cement its dominance in the American volleyball scene.
Team owner and president Stephanie Martin also shared her excitement for the team’s debut in January 2027 and expressed gratitude to the fans for helping select the team’s final name.
San Francisco supporters were given the opportunity to select among “Signal”, “Swell” and “Tide” as the final name for the team for the upcoming LOVB competition.
“To have (our name) bubbling up from the community means everything to us. We really want to be worthy of this region,” Martin said.
“This is a region where we have the best sports teams in the country, so to be able to ensure that our fans can participate from day one is incredibly important to us.”
Aside from Sachi’s San Francisco Signal, teams from Los Angeles, Miami, and Minnesota will also make their debut next year and will parade more volleyball stars from across the globe.
READ NEXT: World Cup semi-finals: Glory, history and everything on the line
Geoffrey H. Latayan 
Angelica N. Hall 
Vivien Bernardino