Cignal HD Spikers (women)

Professional women's volleyball team in the Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cignal HD Spikers were a women's professional volleyball team in the Philippines owned by Cignal. The team originated from the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) where they have played from 2013 to 2020, before moving to the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) in 2021.

Full nameCignal HD Spikers (2014–2025)
Cignal Super Spikers (2025–2026)
Short nameCignal
NicknameSpikers
FoundedJuly 7, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-07-07)
Quick facts Full name, Short name ...
Cignal HD Spikers
Full nameCignal HD Spikers (2014–2025)
Cignal Super Spikers (2025–2026)
Short nameCignal
NicknameSpikers
FoundedJuly 7, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-07-07)
DissolvedApril 28, 2026; 51 days ago (2026-04-28)
LeaguePhilippine Super Liga (2013–2020)
Premier Volleyball League (2021–2026)
ChampionshipsPhilippine Super Liga: 1
(2017 Invitational)
Uniforms
Home
Away
Close

The team rebranded to the Cignal Super Spikers in late 2025. On April 28, 2026, the team announced took a leave of absence from the PVL, following a similar move by the men's team earlier that year from the Spikers' Turf.

Cignal was the sister team to the PLDT High Speed Hitters, and formerly its 2013–2018 predecessor as well as the Smart–Maynilad Net Spikers, all of which are under the MVP Group umbrella.

History

2013–2016: Early years

The team was established in 2013 as the Cignal HD Spikers, they competed in the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) as one of the league's founding teams. They went on to appear in the finals of their first two conferences the 2013 Invitational Conference and Grand Prix but lost to the Philippine Army Lady Troopers on both occasions.[1] In the Invitational, Venus Bernal won the inaugural PSL Most Valuable Player award. For the next three years, Cignal went through a series of underwhelming performances, not winning a single podium.

2017–2020: Later years in the PSL

The team saw more success during their later years in the PSL. In the 2017 Invitational Cup, with the likes of Jovelyn Gonzaga, Rachel Daquis, and Chie Saet, the HD Spikers finished as runners-up in the final round, but were declared co-champions of the conference. It is the team's first and only title in its history.[2] The team then reached the podium four more times through 2019. In the 2019 All-Filipino Conference, Cignal upset the first seed Petron Blaze Spikers in two matches, advancing them to the finals series for the first time since 2013. They were swept by the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in the best-of-three series. Throughout their PSL tenure, Cignal accrued one title, three runner-up finishes, and four bronze-medal finishes for a total of eight podiums.[3]

2021–2024: Move to the PVL

On February 4, 2021, the HD Spikers and its sister team, the PLDT Home Fibr Hitters, moved to the Premier Volleyball League, which had turned professional in November 2020. The move coincided with Cignal TV acquiring the broadcast rights to the PVL.[4] After finishing 10th in their first PVL conference, the 2021 Open Conference, the HD Spikers rebuilt with the acquisitions of Frances Molina and Ria Meneses from the Petro Gazz Angels, and Gel Cayuna from the Perlas Spikers. Alongside the later addition of Jackie Acuña, the team consistently finished in the podium from 2022 to 2024, doing so in seven out of the nine conferences held in that timespan. This included two finals appearances, the first came in the 2022 Reinforced Conference against Petro Gazz where they were swept in two matches. The second came against the Grand Slam-seeking Creamline Cool Smashers in the 2024 Invitational Conference. Cignal led 2–1 in the lone championship match, but lost the next two sets, falling short of their first solo title and stopping Creamline's feat.

2024–2026: Rebuild and leave of absence

The Cignal Super Spikers logo used from 2025 to 2026.

After the 2024 Invitational, the team began to rebuild its roster with new acquisitions and key players transferring to other teams in the coming conferences. During the rebuild, Cignal didn't finish in the podium throughout 2025. The rebuild also presented a time of change for the franchise. The team renamed for the first time, going by the Cignal Super Spikers since October 9, 2025.[5] Additionally, their men's team announced on January 30, 2026 that they would be taking a leave of absence from Spikers' Turf.[6][7] They finished as runners-up.[8]

Throughout the rebuild, the team was led by a young core. Ishie Lalongisip won the Rookie of the Conference in the 2024–25 All-Filipino and Erika Santos (acquired by Cignal in 2025) won Most Valuable Player in the 2025 PVL on Tour. The end of the rebuild saw Vanie Gandler step up in the 2026 All-Filipino Conference, leading the team to their first podium and first finals appearance in over a year, eventually winning MVP honors. However, it wasn't enough to withstand their late rivals in Creamline, who swept the Super Spikers in the finals.

On April 28, 2026, the Super Spikers women's team took a leave of absence from club volleyball after thirteen years of operation and six years in the PVL. The team's statement mentions that the decision came following a "careful review of Cignal's strategic direction", a similar reason for the men's team's LOA.[9] At the time of their leave, Cignal finished as runners-up three times and as bronze medalists five times.[10] All in all, the team finished a total of sixteen podium finished across both the PSL and PVL.

Season-by-season records

Domestic league

List of the last five conferences completed by the Cignal women's volleyball team. For the full-season history, see List of Cignal Super Spikers (women) seasons.

SeasonConferencePreliminary roundFinal roundRankingSource
2024–25
(team)
All-Filipino 3rd (8–3, 25 pts)Did not qualify[a] 9th place [11]
2025–26
(team)
PVL on Tour 1st (4–1, 12 pts) (Pool B)Lost in semifinals vs. Chery Tiggo, 1–3*
Lost in third place match vs. Creamline, 0–3*
4th place [12]
Invitational 5th (1–4, 4 pts)Did not qualify 5th place [13]
Reinforced 6th (5–3, 13 pts)Lost in quarterfinals vs. PLDT 1–3* 7th place [14]
All-Filipino 2nd (6–3, 20 pts)Won in qualifying vs. Creamline, 3–2*
Finished 1st in semifinals (2–1, 6 pts)
Lost in championship vs. Creamline, 0–2
Runner-up [15]
An asterisk (*) indicates single match
Notes

PNVF Champions League

SeasonPreliminary roundFinal roundRankingSource
2024 1st (4–0, 11 pts)Lost in championship vs. Petro Gazz, 0–3 Runner-up [16]

PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup

SeasonPreliminary roundPlayoffsRankingSource
2015 (Team A) 4th (1–2, 3 pts) (Pool D)Did not qualify 13th place
2015 (Team B) 1st (2–0, 6 pts) (Pool B)Lost in semifinals vs. Giligan's, 1–2
Won in third place match vs. Foton Hurricanes, 2–0
3rd place
2016[A] 4th (0–3, 0 pts) (Pool D)Did not qualify 13th place
2017 (Team A) 1st (2–0, 6 pts) (Pool A)Lost in quarterfinals vs. Sta. Lucia, 1–2
Won in fifth place match vs. Cignal (B), 2–1
5th place
2017 (Team B) 2nd (1–1, 3 pts) (Pool C)Lost in quarterfinals vs. Petron Sprint 4T, 0–2
Lost in fifth place match vs. Cignal (A), 1–2
6th place
2018 (Team A) 2nd (1–1, 3 pts) (Pool B)Lost in quarterfinals vs. F2 Logistics, 1–2
Lost in fifth place match vs. Foton, 1–2
6th place
2018 (Team B) 2nd (1–1, 3 pts) (Pool C)Lost in quarterfinals vs. Sta. Lucia (A), 0–2
Lost in seventh place match vs. Sta. Lucia (B), 0–2
8th place
2019 (Team A) 2nd (1–1, 3 pts) (Pool D)Lost in quarterfinals vs. Petron XCS, 0–2
Lost in seventh place match vs. F2 Logistics, 0–2
8th place
2019 (Team B) 3rd (1–2, 4 pts) (Pool B)Did not qualify 10th place
Notes
  1. The team was known as Cignal Team Awesome for the 2016 Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup.

Individual awards

Premier Volleyball League

More information Season, Conference ...
Season Conference Award Name Source
2022 Open 1st Best Outside Spiker Philippines Frances Molina [17]
1st Best Middle Blocker Philippines Roselyn Doria
2nd Best Middle Blocker Philippines Ria Meneses
Best Setter Philippines Gel Cayuna
Invitational 2nd Best Outside Spiker Philippines Frances Molina [18]
Reinforced 2nd Best Middle Blocker Philippines Roselyn Doria [19]
2023 Invitational Most Valuable Player (Conference) Philippines Frances Molina [20]
Best Setter Philippines Gel Cayuna
2nd All-Filipino 2nd Best Middle Blocker Philippines Ria Meneses [21]
Best Setter Philippines Gel Cayuna
2024–25 Reinforced Best Setter Philippines Gel Cayuna [22]
Best Foreign Guest Player Venezuela María José Pérez
Invitational 1st Best Middle Blocker Philippines Jackie Acuña [23]
1st Best Outside Spiker Venezuela María José Pérez
2024–25 All-Filipino Rookie of the Conference Philippines Ishie Lalongisip [24]
2025–26 PVL on Tour Most Valuable Player (Conference) Philippines Erika Santos [25]
All-Filipino Most Valuable Player (Conference) Philippines Vanie Gandler [26]
Best Setter Philippines Gel Cayuna
Close

Philippine Super Liga

More information Philippine SuperLiga, Most Valuable Player ...
Close

PNVF Champions League

More information Season, Conference ...
Season Conference Award Name Source
2024 PNVF Champions League for Women Best Setter Philippines Gel Cayuna [34]
Best Libero Philippines Dawn Macandili-Catindig
Close

Team captains

Notable players

 Philippines

Foreign players

 Australia
 Azerbaijan
  • Anastasiya Artemeva
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Sonja Milanovic
 China
  • Zhanzhan Li
  • Lei Xie
 Cuba
  • Liannes Castaneda Simon
 Greece
 Japan
  • Mami Miyashita
 Puerto Rico
 Slovakia
  • Katrin Trebichavska
 United States
  • Sarah Ammerman
  • Amanda Anderson
  • Tai Bierria
  • Jeane Horton
  • Alexis Mathews
  • Laura Schaudt
  • Lindsay Stalzer
  • Ariel Usher
  • Erica Wilson
 Venezuela

Draft history

More information Season, Pick No. ...
Season Pick No. Name
20247Ishie Lalongisip
20256Erin Pangilinan
18Jessa Ordiales
Close

Imports

More information Season, Number ...
Season Number Player Country
2013 Zhanzhan Li  China
Lei Xie
2014 Lindsay Stalzer  United States
Sarah Ammerman
2015 Ariel Usher
Amanda Anderson
2016 Lynda Morales  Puerto Rico
Laura Schaudt  United States
2017 2 Mami Miyashita  Japan
12 Beth Carey  Australia
18 Alexis Mathews  United States
2018 11 Jeane Horton
20 Sonja Milanović  Bosnia and Herzegovina
2019 9 Anastasiya Artemeva  Azerbaijan
11 Erica Wilson  United States
2020 18 Liannes Castaneda Simon  Cuba
2022 4 Tai Bierria  United States
2024 15 María José Pérez[35]  Venezuela
2025 23 Eva Chantava[36][37]  Greece
17 Katrin Trebichavská [38]  Slovakia
Close

Coaches

See also

Notes

  1. Cignal lost in the qualifying round vs. Capital1 and placed 3rd in the play-in tournament.

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI