PVL: Staying calm, having fun help bring the best out of Staunton

Creamline import Erica Staunton.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Erica Staunton refused to end her first pro stint in the quarterfinals as she powered Creamline in dethroning two-time defending champion Petro Gazz in the PVL Reinforced Conference.

Determined to go all the way, the American import stressed that she wanted to continue playing with the Cool Smashers, pouring in 19 points built on 16 attacks and three blocks to eliminate Petro Gazz, 25-23, 25-19, 25-18, on Tuesday evening at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City and advance to the knockout semifinal.

“I think I have a pretty specific pregame ritual, I kind of do a lot of things just to get my mind right before every game — focus on my breathing, just mindfulness, visualization, and stuff. Just because that personally really helps me with settling any nerves and then also just reminding myself that volleyball is fun, I have fun playing volleyball with my team,” said Staunton.

READ: PVL: Creamline knocks off Petro Gazz, books semis

Erica Staunton on extending her stay in Manila. #PVL2024 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/joVZ31PgN2

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) August 27, 2024

Even Bernadeth Pons and her local teammates were eager to win it for the University of Georgia product.

Staunton is getting strength and confidence from the Cool Smashers as she has been shining brightly in her first overseas stint, leading the undermanned Creamline, which missed the trio of Tots Carlos, Alyssa Valdez, and Jema Galanza.

“I love my teammates. Just making sure that I’m connecting with my teammates all the time, communicating, overly communicating if I’m feeling any nerves inside or anything like that. It’s really just kind of working on mindfulness things to stay calm,” she said.

Staunton remains eager to deliver more for Creamline as they battle Cignal in a no-tomorrow semis game on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Philsports Arena.

READ: PVL: Creamline continues rise as Staunton finds her niche

“We know we’re gonna have a tough game on Thursday. And then, just fighting on Thursday to get to Saturday. Just one day at a time, one practice at a time. Overall, extremely excited and I feel very blessed to be here at this time with experienced champions. So I’m very lucky,” the American spiker said.

Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses believes Staunton has been a great fit for Creamline, hoping she can help them end a six-year Reinforced Conference title drought — being just two wins away.

“Erica is such a great fit for our system in Creamline. Although we’ve been missing a lot of players, Erica is there and she’s doing a very good job,” said Meneses in Filipino.