FARM Fresh’s rise to the top of the standings in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference has been powered by a veteran playmaker with a rare edge for a setter.
At 6-foot-3, Alohi Robins-Hardy is already unusually tall for her position, but what sets her apart even more is that she’s become a legitimate scoring threat.
The Fil-Hawaiian ace, drafted third overall earlier this year, emerged as the highest-scoring setter after the preliminaries with 44 points (5.5 per match), far ahead of Creamline’s Kyle Negrito, who finished a distant second with 24.
READ: Farm Fresh claims first top seed in two-year franchise history
For Robins-Hardy, taking on both scoring and setting duties wasn’t something forced on her. It was a responsibility she embraced to make full use of her advantage in height and diversify Farm Fresh’s offense.
“I believe I can help my team be at my best by becoming an attacker so the load isn’t so much on them. It’s more of a shared load,” she said.
Still, she knows her primary job comes first.
“Obviously, I’m still a setter so I got to set my hitters. Everyone does a great job of using what they can from what I give them, making use of it and scoring as much as they can,” she added.
The numbers back her up. In her first full conference, Robins-Hardy ranked second in setting with 6.17 excellent sets per frame — just 0.07 behind sister team ZUS Coffee captain Cloanne Mondonedo (6.24).
Always meant to be
For head coach Alessandro Lodi, the partnership almost felt fated.
The Italian mentor didn’t have a say in Farm Fresh’s No. 3 pick at the draft, but the decision ultimately worked in his favor.
“That story went way back, so it was kind of something that was already set and decided, and so it was meant to be. What I can say is that I was pretty happy with that decision, with having her,” Lodi said.
He even joked: “If I had decided, I would have never drafted you.”
It may not have been his pick, but based on how things have unfolded in Farm Fresh’s historic top-seed run, Lodi wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Alohi has certain things that she does really well. Having Alohi was something I was happy with. It’s not a choice that I made, but it was a situation that certainly did not make me unhappy.
“You can do some things. You can attack for sure, but the most important thing for a setter is to set. You have to be a good setter.
“If you are a good setter and you can also do stuff at the net, then it’s an extra.”
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