Learning from past mistakes, Savannah Davison stepped onto the court primed and determined, ready to seize every opportunity and exact revenge on elimination-round tormentor Cignal in the knockout quarterfinals of the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
Davison admitted she had underestimated the Super Spikers during the eliminations, which led to a disastrous 17-25, 22-25, 21-25 defeat — the team’s first loss of the tournament, snapping a 15-game winning streak dating back to the preseason.
The 26-year-old outside hitter regretted that lapse in focus and made sure to bring intensity, ensuring history would not repeat itself against the same team in the quarterfinals.
“I basically underestimated them during that first set of prelims,” Davison bared.
Locked in and hungry for revenge, the PVL Invitational MVP dropped 21 points on 18 attacks and three blocks, along with 13 excellent receptions and nine excellent digs, as the High Speed Hitters ousted the Super Spikers, 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
(C) PVL Images
“You know what, we came into this not only wanting to get to the semifinals, but also wanting to take back our ground,” Davison said.
“And to kind of teach everybody that we can take this team. They put up a really good fight. I’m not going to lie, it was really hard, but we stuck to what we studied this week, and I’m just glad that we were able to come out with the win tonight,” she added.
Davison also tipped her hat to Cignal for slowing her down, noting that their blocking and floor defense gave her plenty of trouble — a factor that likely contributed to PLDT’s third-set loss, giving the Super Spikers a brief opening.
“I just want to give Cignal the credit because they did slow me down a lot today. It’s hard to keep the composure when it takes a long time to score. So I give them credit for the block and their defense as well,” said the University of Oklahoma product.
Now heading into the semifinals, Davison vowed never to repeat the same mistakes, promising to stay focused and lead the High Speed Hitters with the same determination that propelled them past Cignal.
“I think it’s to take one game at a time. All of our focus was on this game alone. Tomorrow starts a new day, a new chapter for us, looking into the semifinals,” she said.
“We’ll take the next couple of days to really study, and get to know this team, and hopefully again, execute and take another look.”
