FROM slaying one powerhouse to another, Akari is suddenly surging.
The Chargers followed up their breakthrough win over Nxled by stunning league-leading Cignal in five sets, 25-23, 20-25, 11-25, 25-23, 15-12, in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Playtime Filoil Centre.
Just four days removed from a four-set rout of its sister team, Akari sustained its midseason surge, notching back-to-back wins over title contenders to shake up the seeding race.
After opening the conference 0-3, the Chargers have climbed into the thick of the pack at 2-3, firmly back in the hunt midway through the preliminary round.
Chargers showing character
"I have so much faith dito sa team na ‘to. Kahit nag-struggle kami at first, alam namin how to bounce back. Ang reality no’n, nate-test din ‘yung character ng players,” said Akari head coach Tina Salak.
Akari refused to blink in crunch time when it mattered most.
Trailing 22-23 in the opening set, the Chargers strung together three unanswered points, one from Eli Soyud and back-to-back hits from Grethcel Soltones, to steal the frame after erasing an earlier five-point Cignal cushion.
The Super Spikers responded in the second, with Jackie Acuña capping a dominant stretch to even the match.
Cignal appeared in full control in the third as Vanie Gandler punctuated a runaway set win, one that saw the Super Spikers lead by as many as 17-6 to move ahead two sets to one.
But Akari found its second wind.
The Chargers mirrored their first-set poise in the fourth, breaking a 23-all deadlock behind a clutch Fifi Sharma attack before Soyud delivered the set-clincher to force a decider.
In a tight fifth set, Ivy Lacsina sparked a crucial four-point run from a 5-all tie to wrest control.
Though Erika Santos tried to will Cignal back with consecutive hits, Lacsina, Sharma and Soltones combined in the closing stretch to hand the Super Spikers only their second loss of the conference.
Lacsina led Akari with 20 points and 11 receptions, while Sharma added 16 markers highlighted by five blocks.
Soyud chipped in 14 points and eight digs, and Soltones compensated for a modest six-point output with 19 receptions.
Cignal, meanwhile, drew twin 23-point performances from Gandler, who also tallied 11 receptions, and Santos, who added nine digs. But despite that firepower, the Super Spikers ran out of steam in the end.
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