Staunton embraces luck with Creamline amid PVL Reinforced Conference conquest
MANILA, Philippines – American hitter Erica Staunton said she felt somewhat spoiled in her first-ever overseas stint as a professional volleyball player as she helped the Creamline Cool Smashers end their six-year drought in the PVL Reinforced Conference on Wednesday night.
Staunton, who signed on with the perennial powerhouses straight from college, hardly struggled in her young professional career as she was thrusted into a championship team like the Cool Smashers.
Adding her arsenal to lead the nine-time PVL champions to their first Reinforced Conference crown since 2018, she said that it was a perfect place to start.
“I couldn’t have done it without my amazing teammates. So I feel very lucky that I was brought to a team like Creamline. But yeah, this experience has been unbelievable,” said Staunton.
“I don’t know if there are better volleyball fans out there in the world than in the Philippines. So I’m very lucky to have had this been my first pro contract so, I think I was sort of spoiled in that sense. It’s been above and beyond all expectations.”
The hitter out of the University of Georgia felt the support from the supporters of the Cool Smashers from the get-go, and during their final match against the Akari Chargers, she was showered with her own individual cheers.
ALL LOVE FOR ERICA
— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) September 4, 2024
Erica Staunton is showered cheers as she gets ready to help Creamline against Akari in the winner take all finals of the Reinforced Conference | @StarSportsHub @PhilstarNews #PVL2024 pic.twitter.com/ZtSQZeJ6BG
But even as she was the main focal point of their offense in the import-laden conference, Staunton said that each of her teammates did their part in reaching the pinnacle of the conference.
Against all odds, with their troika of stars — namely Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza — out of the tournament, everyone stepped up to the plate.
“I don’t think one person is the star of the show. I think everybody pulled their weight this entire conference and I think that’s how Creamline just is as a team from what I’ve seen from their past conferences before I got here,” she said.
“So, I think overall, just teamwork, trusting your teammates, and then also trusting myself because I want my teammates to be able to trust me. I would say that’s a really big thing and just building team chemistry. So I feel incredibly lucky that this was the team I started out my pro career with. I feel very blessed.”
Staunton’s journey with Creamline won’t be ending just yet, though, as she’s set to help the team win back-to-back conferences as the PVL Invitational Conference is also happening until mid-September.
Diving right back into action on Friday, September 6, against the Farm Fresh Foxies, Staunton will once again try to impact her team as much as possible.
“Yes. [I’m] still playing in the invitational. That first, then [I go to] Finland,” she said.
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