Courtney Schwan spoke about her PVL debut with the Creamline Cool Smashers, vowing to come back stronger in their next Reinforced Conference outing.
Courtney Schwan’s first taste of PVL action was nothing short of overwhelming, both in terms of the welcome she received and the lessons she learned in her debut match with the Creamline Cool Smashers.
Despite a stellar all-around performance with 26 points, 15 excellent digs, and nine excellent receptions, Schwan and the Cool Smashers fell short against the Akari Chargers in a hard-fought battle that went five sets on Saturday, 23-25, 25-23, 30-28, 23-25, 15-12.
Overwhelming debut
Schwan admitted she was greatly surprised by the kind of warm reception she received from the Creamline faithful at the City of Dasmariñas Arena.
“I was overwhelmed in the beginning. The Creamline fans are amazing and I did not expect to be welcomed so nicely,” she told reporters after the match.
“A little bummed about the result, obviously, because I'm a wimp, but I'm happy we lost early so that we can learn from our mistakes and move on.”
Costly errors and key lessons
While she credited the Chargers for playing well, Schwan was also quick to point out that the Cool Smashers’ own lapses cost them the match.
Courtney Schwan and the Cool Smashers look to clean up on their errors after their first match in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference. | Photo: PVL
In their opening defeat, Creamline committed 35 errors as compared to 30 from Akari, proving to be detrimental in such a close match.
“I think that they played very well, but I also think that we, at the end, made the mistakes and we lost it to ourselves,” she admitted.
“We have to take care of the small things [like] free balls, key moments. We have to not make errors, we have to put the ball in, serve it in, those types of things.”
Focus shifts to Petro Gazz
With the team aiming for a quick bounce-back, Schwan said the loss only heightened their urgency to improve before facing the Petro Gazz Angels in their next assignment.
“The mindset is we get better at the things that we can as fast as possible,” she said.
“We're back in the gym tomorrow morning and we're working hard to get better because this is a short conference, so we're going to take as much time as we can to get better.”
[ALSO READ: Lindsey Vander Weide excited to face deeper field, new faces in PVL Reinforced return]
Creamline will try to turn things around when it battles Petro Gazz on Tuesday, October 14, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in a crucial clash that could set the tone for the rest of its Reinforced Conference campaign.
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Kiko Demigillo’s journey in sports storytelling began with a deep passion for games and athletes, which eventually grew into a full-fledged career.
Now a dedicated sportswriter, Kiko covers a wide range of beats for One Sports, including the PVL, UAAP, PBA, and various international tournaments.