Savannah Davison had already tasted the sweetness of a championship, but not its fullness.
The first time PLDT stood on top during the PVL On Tour, she could only steal a fleeting glance at her family from afar — close enough to see, yet too distant to truly feel the moment with them.
This time, under the white confetti of the PVL Invitational, she made sure the celebration reached the people who mattered most.
As soon as the awarding ceremonies wrapped up, the newly crowned Conference MVP threaded her way through a sea of fans and teammates, determined not to let the moment slip away again. At last, she found her family in the lower box, where the victory could finally be celebrated hand in hand.
(C) PVL Images
“Well, I missed the first one,” Davison said after the High Speed Hitters’ 21-25, 31-29, 25-22, 25-18 win over Kobe Shinwa University in the finale. “They were actually in the lower box. That was considered patron but it was a little bit far, so I had to go up.”
Away from the raucous celebration on the court, Davison was welcomed with familiar warmth — ten of her relatives from her mother’s side, all smiles as they embraced her with open arms.
They posed for photos, shared hugs, and savored the quiet joy of the moment. The 26-year-old spiker lingered unhurried, taking her time to etch every second into memory before eventually returning to the noise of the championship floor.
“But I mean, they’re a big reason why I’m here. They’re the closest I can get to my mom right now. So I feel like sharing this moment with them — you know, having them support me, even from when I first started volleyball — is a big thing,” said Davison.
“To finally come back full circle and have this moment in front of them means a lot to me. I’m glad that I can share it with them and have them be part of the journey,” she added.
But before that moment of calm with her family, Davison had already carried the High Speed Hitters through the storm.
Shaking off a slow start, she delivered a fiery all-around performance — scoring 20 points built on 19 attacks and an ace, while also anchoring PLDT’s floor defense with nine digs and 18 excellent receptions.
“With a team like Kobe, you have to stay in control. Any opportunity that you give them, they’re definitely gonna take advantage of. So, you know, it’s the reminders that we talk about on the court. We have to call out who’s going where, what’s happening, and all that stuff,” she said.
“And, you know, it’s not, it’s definitely not a one-man job. You need to hear things from every place. You need to trust each other. So as much as I want to say, like, I was locked in, it had to be everybody that was locked in. I mean, coaching staff, bench, whatever it was, we all had to know what was going on, to make sure that we handled this properly,” Davison continued.
“So, I’m glad that, you know, it was well executed. I’m glad that it went the way it did. So, I’m just happy and I’m blessed to be here.”
(C) PVL Images
Now with back-to-back championships under her belt — and her first MVP trophy to show for it — Davison knows the real challenge is only beginning.
For her, the goal isn’t to get comfortable on top, but to keep pushing, to keep working, and to make sure the High Speed Hitters stay hungry for more.
“I think the hard part now is just not to get comfortable. A lot of people make it great and then kind of fall off. So, I think our job from here on out is not to kind of look back and see how hard,” said Davison.
“Like obviously, recognize how hard it was to get here, but what it looks like from here on out. There’s going to be a lot more sacrifices. A lot more days that we don’t want to show up, but we do. A lot more blood, sweat, and tears. So, all I can speak about is how we can maintain that going forward and you know, how we can thrive from here on out.”
