Creamline’s Alyssa Valdez. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Alyssa Valdez is slowly regaining her lethal attacking form in time for the semifinal of the 2023 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference.
Valdez delivered her conference-high 12 points as Creamline completed a Pool A sweep with a 25-19, 24-26, 26-24, 25-19 victory over Akari on Saturday at Philsports Arena.
The three-time PVL MVP relished the opportunity to play full matches against after missing the action for seven months due to her right knee injury from the Reinforced Conference last December.
“I feel really happy since it’s been a while since I played full games. But I still have a lot to improve and learn most especially in very crucial matches in the semifinals,” said Valdez, who averaged 11.5 points in the past two games. “More than the skills, it’s the condition if I will always last until the last set.”
After scoring a total of five points in her first two games during the opening week, the 30-year-old spiker made the most of their long break to train and recover and also learn from the games of the Volleyball Nations League men’s competition at Mall of Asia Arena last week.
“It’s really a motivation for me to be better every single game, after every match na nakaka-double-digit. Yung pagdating din dito ng VNL, yun talaga yung na-feel namin as volleyball players, parang grabe yung inspiration na binigay nila sa amin na talagang to just play and enjoy the game every game,” Valdez said.
Creamline will defend its PVL Invitational title against two foreign teams this time, as it joins the visiting Japanese squad Kurashiki Ablaze and Vietnam’s Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh and the top two from Pool B.
Valdez looks forward to flipping the switch when they enter the crucial round of the midseason tournament, where only the top two squads will advance to the winner-take-all Final on July 30.
“I’m really looking forward to really high-quality volleyball games this coming semis, most especially na ang ganda rin ng pinapakita ng other pool. Mas matindi yung mga labanan and for sure mas entertaining yung mga games, and it’s anybody’s ball game,” Valdez said.