RODRIGUEZ, RIZAL — Three days.
That’s all the time Cignal’s new reinforcement Karin Trebichavská had to fight off jet lag, learn the system, and get herself ready for battle.
Fresh off more than 30 hours of travel, the Slovak outside hitter wasted no time joining the Super Spikers, eager to make an impact even as her body still begged for rest.
“Last night was the first night I actually got more than four hours of sleep,” Trebichavská said with a relieved smile, recalling the grueling stretch since her arrival.
“Preparing is very rough, but again, everyone is super super helpful and accommodating and they’re helping me in practice, helping me be in the best shape I can with the four hours of sleep.”
Despite the fatigue, Trebichavská refused to slow down. She joined practices right away, shaking off exhaustion as she felt determined to blend in quickly with her new teammates.
And that determination paid off on Saturday night as the Super Spikers pulled off a thrilling five-set escape over Nxled, 25-21, 23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 16-14, at the Ynares Center Montalban here, with Trebichavská playing a key role in the clutch.
(C) PVL Images
The 25-year-old winger played off the bench in the first two before going all-out in the next three. She finished with 21 points on 17 attacks, three aces, and one block to go along with 10 excellent digs in her very first PVL game.
“Yeah, it was a great challenge and I really enjoyed it,” she said, choosing to focus on the experience rather than the exhaustion.
Trebichavská said she had wanted to come and play in the Philippines months ago, but things didn’t work out then. She then waited for the right moment — and when it finally came, she was eager to grab it and make an immediate impact.
“I actually wanted to come to the Philippines [at] the beginning of the season, but it just didn’t work out,” she shared.
“Then when this opportunity came up, I was like, yes, 100%, I’m coming. I don’t know, that’s it, I thought it was a great opportunity and it was really good actually. There was no question, I was like okay, I’m going, now I’m here.”
With her first game now in the books, Trebichavská is turning her focus toward what truly matters: helping Cignal climb the standings and make a serious run in the tournament.
“My goals are to win everything we can starting from now on and enjoy the rest of the season with the team,” she said. “They’re amazing and I really love all of them and I just want to be as happy with them winning everything and doing our best together.”
For now, though, Trebichavská is simply looking forward to some well-deserved sleep.
