WIN OR GO HOME: Cool Smashers, High Speed Hitters chase semis berths

The Premier Volleyball League’s (PVL) finest clubs will fight for survival when they tackle separate foes in the knockout stage of the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Champions League at the Philsports Arena on Thursday.

Creamline will clash with Thai powerhouse Nakhon Ratchasima at 7 p.m. while PLDT collides with Zhetysu VC of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals of this prestigious event that features the best club teams in Asia.

Drama and emotions are expected to soar as the Cool Smashers — the most popular and successful volleyball club in the country with 10 PVL titles — are looking to bounce back after suffering a straight-set loss to Zhetysu VC, 25-16, 25-17, 25-17, last Monday.

Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses underlined the importance of mental toughness heading into their do-or-die clash with the Cat Devil.

“It’s really up to the players to handle defeat. They’re not kids anymore — they know they have to move on quickly,” Meneses said.

“That’s the nature of sports. What matters most is how you bounce back.”

The Cool Smashers will rely on their dynamic trio of imports — American hitter Erica Staunton, Kazakh blocker Anastassiya Kolomoyets and Russian attacker Anastasiya Kudryashova — supported by local aces Alyssa Valdez, Jema Galanza, Pangs Panaga, Michelle Gumabao and Lorie Bernardo.

However, Creamline faces a tall order against an unbeaten Nakhon Ratchasima squad led by American import Anyse Smith, Greek veteran Eva Chantava and Onuma Sittirak.

Prior to that, PLDT will kick off the quarterfinals against Zhetysu, a nine-time Kazakh champion and the team that handed Creamline its lone loss.

Like their local rivals, the High Speed Hitters also split their group stage matches — opening with a win over Australia’s Queensland Pirates before narrowly falling in five sets to Nakhon Ratchasima.

Despite the loss, PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort believes the experience was invaluable.

“Just like before we played Thailand, we knew they were strong and high-level. But the ball is round. No one expected us to rally from two sets down, but we pushed it to the limit,” Ricafort said.

PLDT will bank on the explosive play of Filipino-Canadian Savi Davison, Cuban hitter Wilma Salas, and Kianna Dy to challenge a formidable Zhetysu side anchored by Karyna Denysova, Valeriya Yakutina and Tatyana Nikitina.

Should both PLDT and Creamline pull off breakthrough wins, it would set up a historic all-Filipino semifinal, putting the country on the brink of sending a team to the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship later this year.