Volleyball star Alyssa Valdez is determined to keep her career record on track following Creamline’s seventh overall title run in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Second All-Filipino last week. 

The 30-year-old spiker, who has been with the Cool Smashers since their inception in the league in 2017, remained hungry for more as she continuously regains her old form. 

Valdez suffered a right knee injury during Creamline’s battle for third match against Chery Tiggo in the 2022 PVL Reinforced Conference.

The three-time PVL MVP was then sorely missed the following year before returning to action in the mid-year conference. 

Replacing her bitter memory of the injury she suffered exactly a year ago and the heartbreaking defeat she experienced during her final year in the UAAP, Valdez is relishing the newly made sweet moment at the Big Dome where Creamline and Choco Mucho reset the PVL crowd record to 24,456. 

“It’s probably my first championship win here at Araneta. First ever [title] win [here] and it’s so timely siguro to end the year with a win,” said Valdez. 

The skipper hasn’t been in Creamline’s old rotation since recovering from the injury, but continued to be reliable when called upon as she delivered five points in the decider set against finals debutant Choco Mucho Flying Titans including the clincher that gave the Cool Smashers their third straight All-Filipino title. 

“Simula pa lang sinasabi namin one point at a time. And I guess ang nasa isip ko lang noon pag pinasok ako ni coach gagawin ko lang ‘yung trabaho ko para makatulong sa team. It’s so nice to play kasi in that moment, in this big stadium, with this crowd, ang sarap maglaro. Ang iniisip ko lang bahala na ibibigay ko lang lahat para sa team,” she said. 

“[Thankful] definitely sa trust niya kasi hindi ako naglaro ng ilang sets but binigay niya sa akin ‘yung opportunity na ‘yun.”

For the third time, Creamline also went all the way through the title undefeated, winning all 15 games this conference and spoiling sister team Choco Mucho’s first-ever finals stint. 

“Honestly, I think one thing that works and works for me and for us this conference is that the experience I had playing for almost ilang years na rin talaga. Iba kasi ‘yung challenges kasi namin as a team this conference. May mga pinagdadaanan kami mga players na kailangan namin mag-recover in different ways most especially mga back to back games din ngayon,” Valdez furthered. 

"It’s just so nice to be surrounded by these competitive, empowered women. And with the coaches also, I guess that’s the beauty in our team. There’s no day na hindi mo mai-prove ‘yung sarili mo sa training. There’s no day hindi mo gagawin ‘yung best mo.”