Annie Mitchem wasted no time announcing her arrival in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference. Her dominant scoring, composure under pressure, and natural leadership have turned Akari’s campaign into one of the biggest storylines of the season’s opening stretch.

Akari has stormed to a 2-0 start in Pool B behind the American spiker’s stellar debut, highlighted by a long-awaited triumph over powerhouse Creamline. After years of frustration, the Chargers finally broke through with Mitchem at the forefront.

Mitchem sets the tone in breakthrough win

In her first PVL outing, Mitchem erupted for 33 points and capped the night with the decisive kill in a thrilling five-set upset of the defending champions, 23-25, 25-23, 30-28, 23-25, 15-12. The victory marked Akari’s first-ever franchise win over Creamline after 10 attempts.

The momentum carried over days later when she delivered 17 points and 15 digs to lift Akari past Chery Tiggo in another five-set battle, 25-11, 22-25, 29-27, 17-25, 15-7, solidifying the Chargers’ early rise.

The 31-year-old has played in top-flight leagues in Indonesia, Turkiye, Brazil, and Italy, but she says the energy of Philippine fans stands out. “I’m really happy and proud of us because this team is really good,” Mitchem said. “The crowd was big like this. The fans are really interactive and like screaming so it’s really fun. I enjoyed it a lot.”

You May Also Like: Creamline dismantles Galeries Tower for easy straight-sets win

Confidence and chemistry drive her impact

Mitchem credits her early rhythm to Akari’s preparation and team camaraderie. “I think just going to practice and just being with everyone is really helpful, and just like enjoying our time while we’re practicing,” she said.

Her outstanding start earned her the PVL Press Corps Player of the Week award presented by Pilipinas Live for the period of October 9 to 18, edging imports Eli Rousseaux (Farm Fresh), Anna DeBeer (ZUS Coffee), Sasha Bytsenko (Capital1), and local standouts Savi Davison (PLDT) and Brooke Van Sickle (Petro Gazz).

Head coach Tina Salak stressed that Akari’s locals must continue stepping up to complement their import’s firepower. “’Yun ‘yung goal namin, na tulungan ‘yung import namin to make points. Kailangan hindi lang kami nagre-rely doon kay Annie, and we have to rely din doon sa locals namin na makapag-produce at makapag-provide ng points,” she said.

Mitchem and the Chargers aim to keep their unbeaten run alive when they face the Petro Gazz Angels on Thursday at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.