PVL: Creamline import Erica Staunton points out areas for improvement after Reinforced Conference debut

It wasn’t the debut that American spiker Erica Staunton had hoped for in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference.

Staunton and the Creamline Cool Smashers fell short against the PLDT High Speed Hitters in five sets at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Tuesday, July 16.

Staunton led the Cool Smashers with 20 points, but this was not enough against Elena Samoilenko’s 34 markers to will the High Speed Hitters to victory.

Despite the opening-day loss, the 23-year-old outside hitter is already eager for the Cool Smashers to bounce back in their next game.

“We can be upset about the loss tonight, and then we talked about starting tomorrow. We focus on the next game,” Staunton told reporters after the match.

“We definitely have some things we can work on, some things we can clean up, some things that maybe weren’t up to our standard, but I think that they’re all things that we can take care of in training and be ready for the next game,” she added.

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This, being the first game in her professional career, Staunton was also quick to list some of the things she learned from her match against PLDT.

“For me, I think offensively tonight, I learned about like PLDT had [an] incredible defense. I think I learned that next game, I should be taking smarter shots, [and] maybe not try to swing so hard,” Staunton explained.

“They had some really good check balls off of me that allowed their defense to pick up off of them. I think that next game, I have a better feel for what I need to do offensively for sure,” she emphasized.

Staunton also relished the opportunity to play in front of thousands of Creamline fans and vowed to turn things around for the rest of their campaign.

“I know we came up short tonight, but it was definitely something that was unique for me, and just kind of experiencing the fans [and] how much everybody loves Creamline, it was incredible,” said Staunton.

“I loved every second of that. Unfortunately, we came up short for them tonight, but we plan on turning that around for the rest of the conference,” she added.

Up next for Staunton and the Cool Smashers will be the Farm Fresh Foxies on Saturday, July 20.