PETRO Gazz unlocked its first win run of the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference at erstwhile unbeaten Akari’s expense, 29-27, 25-22, 19-25, 17-25, 15-11, on Thursday at the Playtime Filoil Centre.
Brooke Van Sickle & Co. made it three wins in four games by pulling the plug on the Chargers’ reverse-sweep bid.
Back-to-back Angels wins also had back-to-back BVS triple-doubles embedded on them. This time, she churned out 19 points, 13 receptions, and 12 digs.
MJ Phillips posted four blocks to cap her 13-piece ahead of newly-converted opposite hitter Myla Pablo's 12 points.
"We knew Akari's tough. They actually came out firing, kind of let up a little bit, but we just kept battling," said Petro Gazz head coach Gary Van Sickle.
"That fourth set, it didn't feel like it was happening [for us], so we benched a couple of starters. They weren't too happy, but it felt good to bring them back, have energy, and we needed it in the fifth."
Indeed, it didn’t come easy, as the Angels first had to erase five set points in the first canto and go on a 7-1 tear in Set 2 to take an early two-set advantage.
After taking their feet off the gas in the next two sets, BVS and an under-the-weather Lindsey Vander Weide took over in a 7-2 start to sudden death.
LVW’s American compatriot Annie Mitchem helped Akari score four of the next five points to cut the lead to 8-6. That mini-run would be the Chargers’ last stand, as Vander Weide put the match away with the last three points.
Petro Gazz' returning import put up 22 points on 20 attacks, one block, and one ace.
Not enough light for Akari
While Akari showed promising signs of life in the third and fourth cantos, and even erasing an early 2-7 deficit in the fifth, it just fell a few points short of a hat-trick of five-set wins in as many matches.
Mitchem, who tried to save the Chargers with her power hits in the tiebreak, had her second 30-piece of the conference with 30 points and 10 receptions go for naught.
Grethcel Soltones was held to just seven points, but had a sterling defensive double-double of 25 receptions and 11 points.
Not even a strong showing from Akari's local core, led by the likes of Fifi Sharma (18 points), Eli Soyud (14 points), and Ced Domingo (13 poitns) could lift them from the jaws of defeat, as they slid to 2-1.
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