Creamline continues rise as Staunton finds her niche

Creamline’s Erica Staunton during the PVL Reinforced Conference.–PVL PHOTO

Although there are still some kinks to be ironed out by Creamline in its game, the Cool Smashers are slowly living up to their reputation as the fearsome champion team to beat.

Save for a five-set upset in its opening game against PLDT, Creamline is now clicking on all cylinders and with a 27-25, 26-28, 29-27, 25-19 demolition of Galeries Tower, the Cool Smashers carved out its third consecutive win in four games in the PVL Reinforced Conference.

“In the first game, PLDT put up great defense so that was something that even I, especially, had to learn coming into this league … the defense, they’re gonna get great touches on the blocks, they’re gonna get great ups defensively,” Erica Staunton, Creamline’s import, told the Inquirer.

“So even if you think you have a great swing, the defense could still be there. But overall as a team, I think from the first game to this one I think our chemistry is better, our communication is better,” Staunton added.

Staunton poured in the offensive foundation that allowed Creamline to survive the gritty defense of the Highrisers. She had 29 points built on 25 attacks, three blocks and an ace.

But the good thing is that the local Cool Smashers are not leaving her alone with the offensive responsibilities as Bernadeth Pons reset her pro career-high scoring with 26 points after logging 25 points in their previous win against Chery Tiggo—a proof that Creamline is slowly returning to its vaunted form even without its brightest stars.

Far from perfect

“I am still kinda trying to get a feel of everything in that first game so I’ve been more vocal and trying to connect with my teammates more and I think it shows on the court,” Staunton said.

“Something as well that we’ve been working out [is] getting all our hitters involved and getting our full offense going rather than just relying on one or two people,” she added as Kyle Negrito keyed the game plan and tossed 20 excellent sets.

Creamline’s game, however, is still far from perfect: The winless Galeries Tower forced the Cool Smashers to give up 30 errors.

“We talked before the game about not underestimating [the Highrisers]. I know that I am new to this league, but they really emphasized that Galeries can play very, very good volleyball … and just be very scrappy defensively so we knew that it wasn’t gonna be a walk in the park,” the American hitter said.

One more hurdle

“If you play a game not to lose, versus playing a game to win, it’s gonna be a lot harder on yourselves so I think that was one thing we talked about was playing to win so we stayed aggressive … and just make sure we put the pressure on them so we can try and [counter] some of the errors that they were putting on us,” she added.

The Cool Smashers have just one more hurdle to overcome in Nxled to complete their first-round assignments—and heading into that matchup, Staunton said they would prefer to keep things simple, keep being aggressive and trust their game.

“I am lucky enough to come in and be training with four-peat champions every single day so they definitely push me so I am making sure that I am making full advantage of that in training and translating that into the game,” she said.

“I don’t wanna look back in two months in regret like overthinking too much and not giving my all,” Staunton added.