WHEN it comes to fanbases in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), and possibly in all of Philippine sports, Creamline is among the top clubs in the country with the support they've been getting in their seven-year run.
With its mix of starpower and firepower, the PVL’s winningest team continues to be loved by legions of supporters through years and seasons past.
READ: Creamline's first conference-opener loss in 5 years a bad omen?
And for the Cool Smashers’ seventh foreign guest import in as many years in American spiker Erica Staunton, the Creamline faithful’s devout support she had a first taste of — albeit in a losing effort — was a ‘unique’ experience.
“It was an awesome environment. It was definitely something that was unique for me to experience the fans, how much everybody loves Creamline, and it was incredible even during challenges, you can hear all of the fans chanting for Creamline. I loved every second of that,” Staunton shared.
“Unfortunately, we came up short for them tonight but we plan on turning that around for the rest of the conference.”
Staunton scored 20 points built on 16 attacks, two blocks and two aces in her first act for the undermanned Cool Smashers missing the services of their champion-MVP trio Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza.
Creamline's tough pill to swallow
Losing is a rarity for the eight-time PVL champions, but it has happened more times in past editions of the import-laden conference than at any other point in the last seven years.
Staunton, however, was quick to pick up key pointers in her PVL debut and is ready to bounce back k after Creamline’s first opening-day defeat since 2019.
“I learned for the next games that I should be taking some smarter shots, maybe not try to swing so hard. They had some really good check balls off of me that allowed their defense to pick up off of them," she stated.
“I have a better feel of what I need to do, for sure.”
Competition-wise, penetrating rock-solid floor and net defenses is a key area of attack Staunton pinpointed would be of utmost importance the rest of the way.
“Based off of PLDT, I think the defense is very, very good. I think in college, in the States, sometimes we’re facing bigger blocks. But teams in the Philippines have clearly made it work like the check balls that I mentioned earlier. Those were very beneficial to their team and just being able to slow that ball down," she shared.
“No matter how high you think you can jump, no matter how hard you think you can hit, these blockers are getting really solid touches on it and the defense is picking it up so I think that defensively, it’s been an adjustment.”
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