Elena back with a bang

Russian winger Elena Samoilenko is on a mission to bring PLDT to greater heights in her return as reinforcement two years after her first stint.

The power-hitting import wasted no time showcasing her fine form to rally the High Speed Hitters to a rousing start in Pool A of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference.

Samoilenko was at the forefront of PLDT’s spotless opening week after pouncing on undermanned Creamline in a marathon thriller and turning back Galeries Tower in straight sets.

The 6-foot-4 open spiker’s impressive display of her all-around game earned her the distinction as the conference’s first recipient of the PVL Press Corps Player of the Week award presented by Pilipinas Live for the period 16 to 20 July.

She got the unanimous vote from online, broadsheet and tabloid reporters covering the country’s only women’s professional volleyball league, which streams at Pilipinas Live App and www.pvl.ph.

Samoilenko showed the same scoring prowess she showcased in the 2022 edition of the tournament after firing 34 points that she complemented with astounding floor defense, tallying 14 excellent receptions and 13 digs to open the High Speed Hitters’ campaign with a 16-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 15-12 win over Creamline.

The 29-year-old foreign guest player is eager to lift her club from missing the semifinals in her maiden stint behind a new-look coaching staff, led by champion coach Rald Ricafort, and new teammates.

“Every game, I want to win and I want to be better and [help] my team. This season, I think it’s a much better staff, better team,” said Samoilenko, who emerged as the top scorer in the 2022 edition only to see her team place sixth with a 3-5 win-loss record.

Samoilenko followed her opening game explosion with 14 points, 11 receptions, and 11 digs in a 25-19, 25-16, 25-17 sweep of Galeries Tower on Saturday as PLDT shared the Pool A top spot with Chery Tiggo.

Ricafort credited their spotless start to the early arrival of the Russian, allowing them to train longer and make necessary adjustments after Savi Davison was ruled out of the mid-season conference due to a minor left knee treatment.

“Lena came in early which gave us a month of preparation,” the PLDT coach said.

Still, Samoilenko is far from satisfied, vowing to offer more to the High Speed Hitters, who will battle the Farm Fresh Foxies on Thursday.

“Every game we need to stay a little bit better, you know, step by step, and every after game we will [do] better,” Samoilenko said.

“We need to concentrate, focus. And we need to be better every game.”