MANILA — With three-time Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Brooke Van Sickle sidelined due to an injury, MJ Phillips is setting an example for the Nxled Chameleons.
Van Sickle has a minor right shoulder injury that has forced her to sit out the whole 2026 PVL on Tour. She is continuing her recovery during this six-team tournament. The Fil-American star is set to return for the new conference in October.
In the meantime, it is Phillips who is assuming the role of an “ate” in this title-hungry squad.
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“I mean, I just know that I'm looked at as an ate with everyone on the team. So I just really want to set an example,” said Phillips as the Chameleons logged their first win, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20, on Tuesday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Phillips knows that her fellow Fil-American star is valuable still, despite only watching from the sidelines for now.
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“I know that we're missing Brooke [Van Sickle]. But she's still a very big, huge impact on the team, even if she's off the court,” the middle blocker said.
Phillips said that hunger for a championship drives them in the competition which will end on September 8.
“We’re really hungry for like a win, and a championship. Everyone's stepping up, that's what we're seeing. And I see a lot of confidence.
In the past, maybe we'd make errors, we'd kind of curl up. But right now, I just feel like we're really solid right now,” she said.
“And even if [we’d have] an error, we'd bounce back. We're confident that we can do it. So, it's a big change.”