Playmakers are the backbone of any volleyball team.
In the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), great playmaking is synonymous with great team-building, which is why, simply put, the best teams almost always have the best setters.
Jia de Guzman, Kyle Negrito, Kim Fajardo, Gel Cayuna and Djanel Cheng are just some of the league’s notable champion orchestrators today, and now, another one aims to claim that illustrious distinction: Cloanne Mondoñedo of ZUS Coffee, the only undefeated team left in the 2025 Reinforced Conference.
The multi-time NCAA titlist notched 27 excellent sets and four points in a thrilling five-set reverse sweep of Akari, 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-12, 15-7, last Tuesday before tallying 26 more excellent sets plus three points in a 25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, conquest of Choco Mucho last Saturday in Candon City, Ilocos Sur.
For her efforts in leading the Thunderbelles to a franchise-best 6-0 conference start and its third-ever quarterfinals appearance, Mondoñedo cruised as the unanimous choice for PVL Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Pilipinas Live for the period of 4 to 8 November.
For Mondoñedo, it’s not a matter of elevating her play so that others may rise to her level, but rather inspiring herself to catch up, exactly because her teammates are already doing so well.
“You can see in them the determination to win. You’ll be motivated because of them, seeing their hunger to win,” she said after taking down the Flying Titans in a match also notable for a PVL record-tying 10-block outing from Choco Mucho’s Maddie Madayag and a seven-block effort from ZUS Coffee rookie Riza Nogales.
After Cignal’s Erika Santos two weeks ago, Mondoñedo rises as only the league’s second-ever local player in the Reinforced Conference to win the weekly citation deliberated by print and online reporters covering the pioneering professional volleyball league organized by Sports Vision.
The former College of Saint Benilde star and longtime Jerry Yee understudy edged out similarly strong performances from Thunderbelles teammates Jovelyn Gonzaga and import Anna DeBeer, Capital1’s Sasha Bytsenko, Cignal’s KT Trebichavska, Creamline’s Coco Schwan, and PLDT’s Savi Davison for the award.
Moving forward, Mondoñedo preaches for more consistency as ZUS Coffee gazes at a golden opportunity for a maiden PVL championship just a few years removed from being a league laughingstock.
“Personally, I want to make things easy for us,” she continued.
“So, I want to be better at what I do so it will be easier for them to do their jobs.”
Though already assured of a playoff berth, Mondoñedo and the rest of the Thunderbelles still aim for a momentum-boosting 8-0 elimination round sweep, first against Cignalnext Thursday, then against Nxled on 18 November.