PLDT’s Davison braces for Van Sickle, Angels

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-Canadian hitter Savi Davison is preparing herself for tougher competition as she plays her second season in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) with the PLDT High Speed Hitters.

Faced with better composition of teams and new recruits, Davison believes that this isn’t the same field of competition she had when she first started out in the Philippines.

“I think volleyball here in the Philippines is always gonna be challenging. I think it’s the confidence that kind of sizes up [what] the girls bring and it’s fun to play with,” said Davison after PLDT’s three-set win over the NXLED Chameleons on Tuesday. 

“And you can tell based on the first two games, everyone’s elevating their game, everyone’s progressing, working harder, you know, trying new things. And I think that just tells the whole tale towards what the rest of the season’s gonna be like. So I’m excited to see what they bring and you know, I’m excited to see how we show up,” she added.

Davison has been the go-to scorer for PLDT, providing the firepower already reinforced by the likes of middle blocker Majoy Baron and wing spiker Jules Samonte. 

But she’s not the only talent out of US NCAA Division 1.

In the High Speed Hitters’ next game, Davison goes head-to-head with another blue chip recruit – Filipino-American Brooke Van Sickle of the Petro Gazz Angels.

Like Davison, Van Sickle was brought in by her team to keep themselves competitive in a league filled to the brim with local talent.

Ahead of their anticipated clash, the wing spiker says she’ll treat her first meeting with Van Sickle like any other match she’s done so far.

“I mean, it’s the same. You know, you have to treat it the same. You can’t walk into a game saying that this is gonna be any different, because you’ll make it too complex, right?” she said. 

“So, you know, my head is kinda geared towards Petro Gazz as a team for now and we’ll see how we show up on the day.”

The High Speed Hitters are looking to stay perfect in three games when they face the Angels on Saturday at the PhilSports Arena. 

Petro Gazz, for its part, seeks to bounce back after a heartbreaking five-set loss to Choco Mucho on Tuesday.