Whatever Creamline needs, Courtney Schwan will be there to fill the gaps and steady the ship.
With the Cool Smashers already loaded with offensive weapons, scoring was never the problem — but stabilizing their floor defense was. And on a night when Creamline needed someone to patch the holes in reception and keep rallies alive, Schwan stepped into that role without hesitation.
She delivered on both ends on Sunday night to help the Cool Smashers bounce back from an opening-set loss and dominate Nxled, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-18, for back-to-back wins in the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
“Like we talked about, any way that I can help. And if I’m not scoring very much this match, or I was having a tough time in the first set, per se, I’ll find another way to help the team the best that I can,” said the American winger, who still finished with 14 points.
“And today, for me, that was defense. So, I tried to step up the best that I could there and really didn’t see anything that I couldn’t handle.”
It was on defense where her impact truly shone.
Schwan anchored Creamline’s floor coverage, steadying their reception and keeping rallies alive. She tallied 15 excellent receptions and 14 digs against the upset-seeking Chameleons.
(C) PVL Images
The 29-year-old outside hitter from Auburn, Washington, said a shift in mindset also sparked their turnaround after a tense first set.
“Yeah, I think we tried to find joy again. I think that first set we were a little tense, and we weren’t playing our normal kind of volleyball, and we were kind of hesitant. And we kind of wanted to play a little bit more free in the rest of the match and with confidence and a little bit more trust,” she said.
Aside from that adjustment, Schwan admitted that the team also caught a break late in the fourth set when Nxled import Paola Martínez led a 5-0 rally that trimmed Creamline’s 10-point cushion down to five, 17-22.
Chameleons playmaker Jaja Maraguinot then committed a costly service error, halting their momentum and allowing the Cool Smashers to regain control.
“I will honestly say we got a little lucky there when they missed that serve because the momentum swung back to our side, and then we closed out the match. So there was a little bit of luck on our side there, and then we closed out in the end,” said Schwan.
Now at 4-2 and just two wins away from securing a quarterfinal berth, Schwan vowed to keep doing whatever it takes to steer the Cool Smashers forward.
