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‘Most fun volleyball environment’: Erica Staunton relishes first Creamline-Choco Mucho matchup in PVL Reinforced Conference

In her first Creamline-Choco Mucho matchup, Erica Staunton delivered big time to lead the Cool Smashers past the Flying Titans in straight sets.

Erica Staunton powered the Creamline Cool Smashers to victory against rivals Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference. | Photo (c) PVL

Creamline Cool Smashers import Erica Staunton delivered big time in her first match against rivals Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference.

Staunton finished with 19 points on 17 attacks and two blocks, which included the game-winning kill in Creamline’s thrilling comeback in the third set.

Knowing how big the matchup is between the Rebisco sister teams, the American import enjoyed playing every second of the match in front of the 9,429-strong crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“That was, hands down, the most fun volleyball environment I’ve ever been a part of. I knew coming into it that there were gonna be a lot of fans, a lot of eyes watching,” Stautnon said during the post-game press conference.

“I kind of just wanted to focus on enjoying it because you never know if I’m ever gonna play in a crowd like that again. Just really enjoying the moment,” she added.

Facing a large crowd of Creamline and Choco Mucho supporters, Staunton turned to an old saying of her coach back at Georgia University to calm her nerves.

“I hope I get it right, but it’s play for the two not for the 30,000. Basically, you’re playing the same game whether it’s your two best friends just watching you in the game and you’re playing to have fun. You’re playing the same game as if you’re playing in front of 30,000 people, so kind of just checking back into that,” said Staunton.

“We’re playing the game we love no matter how many people are watching, so that kind of helped settle the nerves a little bit and just embracing the number of fans that are here that love Choco Mucho and Creamline. It’s just incredible the amount of people that love volleyball in the Philippines,” she added.

Down 23-14 in the third frame, the Cool Smashers, led by Staunton, made their epic run to bring them back to the game and eventually seal the victory in straight sets.

“Honestly, [I’m] just leaning on my teammates. Just knowing that if we’re gonna do [that comeback], we’re gonna do it together. I just really appreciated all the confidence they had in me to feed me the ball,” said Staunton.

“I was feeling good in that third set. It took a minute, I think I started off slow in the first set, so my teammates really had my back throughout that game and just waiting for me to start getting a hot hand and being able to put the ball away.

With a quarterfinals ticket secured, Creamline will look to end the preliminaries on a solid note as the Cool Smashers go up against the winless ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles on Thursday, August 22 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.