Ageless Rachel Ann Daquis is aging like fine wine.

Father Time has blessed the talented head-turner with maturity and improved skills, making her a more potent hitter and a wiser leader as she ages.

Although some thought she was already in the twilight of her competitive volleyball career, Daquis continued to prove otherwise in wearing Farm Fresh’s bright orange.

The 37-year-old winger displayed vintage form in the Foxies’ thrilling reverse sweep of Capital1 last Tuesday with a 19-point eruption she laced with 13 digs for a well-rounded line in the 2024-2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.

Daquis stepped up as the much-needed veteran presence in the clutch for a young Farm Fresh squad, and fittingly, hammered the match-winning kill to lift the Foxies to a franchise-best 5-6 win-loss record at the end of the preliminary round.

For her throwback exploits, Daquis earned herself a unanimous selection as the PVL Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Pilipinas Live for the period of 18 to 22 February.

The former Cignal mainstay, playing in her first tournament since the 2023 Invitational Conference, bested fellow icon Alyssa Valdez of Creamline, Petro Gazz’s MJ Phillips, Cignal’s Vanie Gandler, Choco Mucho’s Isa Molde, and PLDT’s possible MVP candidate Savi Davison for the weekly plum decided by reporters covering the competition streamed live and on-demand via the Pilipinas Live app and on www.pvl.ph.

Though already fulfilled in her career and just content with helping out the younger volleyball generations, Daquis remains hungry by example for her teammates as they scale a steep incline towards a breakthrough PVL title in the six-month competition organized by Sports Vision.

“We still have a lot to improve on proven by this game that went to a fifth set. We should’ve started strong,” Daquis said after the Foxies’ win.

“It means we need improvement but at least there’s progress. We’re just taking it one step at a time.”

“We’re happy with the result. It tested our character. It’s not just about the win but building our character as a team. Talent-wise Farm Fresh already has the right pieces. It’s more of showing composure and fighting until the end. So, it’s a good win for us,” she added.

Sixth-ranked Farm Fresh returns to action on 4 March as it faces No. 7 Akari in the qualifying round for one of six outright quarterfinals spots.

Losers of the qualifiers descend to the play-in tournament with two remaining quarters berths at stake.