Rachel Anne Daquis and the Farm Fresh Foxies during a win over the Capital1 Solar Spikers in the PVL All-Filipino Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Ageless Rachel Ann Daquis is defying Father Time.
Once thought to be all but retired in competitive volleyball, the 37-year-old living legend is back in full force in the 2024-2025 PVL All-Filipino Conference as she turned in a vintage 19-point outing in Farm Fresh’s thrilling reverse sweep of Capital1 last Tuesday, plus 13 excellent digs for a well-rounded line.
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With swinging attacks consistent as the hands of time itself, Daquis stepped up as the much-needed veteran presence in the clutch for a young Farm Fresh squad, and fittingly, hammered the match-winning kill to lift the Foxies to a franchise-best 5-6 record at the end of the preliminary round.
READ: PVL: Vintage Rachel Daquis shows up at right time for Farm Fresh
For her throwback exploits, Daquis earned herself a unanimous selection as the PVL Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Pilipinas Live for the period of February 18 to 22.
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The former Cignal mainstay, playing in her first tournament since the 2023 Invitational Conference, bested fellow icon Alyssa Valdez of Creamline, Petro Gazz’s MJ Phillips, Cignal’s Vanie Gandler, Choco Mucho’s Isa Molde, and PLDT’s possible MVP candidate Savi Davison for the weekly plum decided by reporters covering the competition streamed live and on-demand via the Pilipinas Live app and on www.pvl.ph.
Though already fulfilled in her career and just content with helping out the younger volleyball generations, Daquis remains hungry by example for her teammates as they scale a steep incline towards a breakthrough PVL title in the six-month competition organized by Sports Vision.
READ: PVL: Daquis hopes to lead young Foxies after ‘meaningful return
“We’re still not there yet because if we were, we wouldn’t have gone to a fifth set—we should’ve dominated from the start,” she said after their win over Capital1. “That means we still have work to do, but there’s progress. And that’s what matters—we’re improving, one step at a time.”
“We’re happy with the result, even if it went to a fifth set, because this game really tested our character. Winning wasn’t the only goal; we needed to build our character. Farm Fresh already has the talent—they’re really good. What matters is fighting until the end, and this was a great win for us because no one gave up.”
Sixth-ranked Farm Fresh returns to action on Tuesday, March 4 as it faces No. 7 Akari in the qualifying round for one of six outright quarterfinals spots.
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Losers of the qualifiers descend to the play-in tournament, where they have one last chance to Earn one of two remaining quarters berths to complete the eight-team cast.
