In helping Creamline write history, Erica Staunton wraps up her pro debut knowing she has the coolest group of ates in Philippine volleyball.
Without question, Erica Staunton has established her name in Creamline lore after her seamless fit powered the dominant darlings’ historic Grand Slam bid.
Thanks to Staunton, Creamline put an end to their title drought in the Reinforced Conference, and escaped a gritty Cignal side in the Invitationals that secured the grand feat.
At 23 years old, Staunton ends her PVL debut as a two-time champion and a one-time Best Outside Spiker nod to solidify her place among all-time great imports.
But beyond these accolades, Staunton has found a family with Creamline, one that she will miss big time as she heads to Finland for her next professional stint. The passionate fans are one thing, but Creamline’s vets have given her so much happiness in her two-month stay with them.
“They’re my ates, and they treat me like a little sister…I love them so much. They make me laugh so much all the time. I love spending time with them. It’s great off the court, which makes it great on the court,” Staunton told The GAME after Creamline’s Grand Slam clincher versus Cignal.
“So it’s really easy to trust them. They give me a lot of confidence, and I know that they’re always supporting me no matter what.”
Entering Creamline means entering a team full of champions, which is quite the privilege for 23-year-old Staunton. After all, it’s here that she witnessed what championship-level work ethic means early into her pro career.
Through them, Staunton found herself inspired to push through on the hard days, knowing that her ates will strive for excellence in such situations.
“I would say it’s huge [winning two PVL titles]. But again, it’s all credit to my teammates. I think that they showed me what it takes to be a champion and how you have to push yourself in the gym every single day,” said the University of Georgia product.
Under the Phenom’s wings
Erica Staunton has also been mentored by none other than Alyssa Valdez in her pro debut. While sidelined, the Phenom has been a steady presence on Creamline’s bench throughout the Reinforced and Invitational Conferences.
And if you’ve watched Creamline’s games, then you might have seen Ate Ly herself giving advice to Staunton during timeouts.
“She has been great to me since the moment that I got here. And just knowing her experience…she’s Alyssa Valdez, so obviously she’s an incredible volleyball player. And so just having her as a set of eyes on the sideline was immensely helpful,” said Staunton.
So just imagine forming an offensive trio with Michele Gumabao and Bernadeth Pons on the court…while having the Alyssa Valdez act as one of your mentors on the Creamline bench.
“There were even points where she would come up to me, give me tips, or even if I was struggling, she would kind of let me figure it out. But a lot of the times, I would go up to her and just ask her what she sees, if she sees anything I can do differently. It was great to have her as a set of eyes because she knows volleyball, she knows the system, she knows the league,” she explained.
As mentioned, Erica Staunton will now head to Finland for her second pro league. In doing so, her next team receives a young talent that’s been sharpened by Philippine volleyball and an all-time great team.
And as we wait for her return, rest assured that Staunton’s will always have her ates, who turn out to be some of the country’s best volleybelles.
“I think especially this being my first pro contract and coming into such a successful team, I think it [playing in the PVL] definitely taught me how to handle pressure. So that was something that I’ve really worked on over this conference, and I think I did pretty well, so I’m pretty proud of myself in that sense,” she said.
“But yeah, just being able to handle pressure, trust myself, trust my game, and go into games, just kind of focus on that and not so much on what’s going on off the court.”
Banner image courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.