SISTER teams Farm Fresh and ZUS Coffee are joint league-leaders for the first time.
This comes after the Foxies’ 25-23, 25-13, 25-11 rout of also-ran Galeries Tower in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Saturday at the Ynares Center II in Montalban, Rizal.
Both playoff-bound squads under the Frank Lao-backed Strong Group Athletics stable hold 6-1 records with one game left on their prelims slates.
Belgian winger Helene Rousseaux continued to show her fine form with 19 points on 13 attacks, three blocks, and three aces.
Trisha Tubu once again led the locals with 16 points built on 15 attacks. Lorene Toring turned in her best outing of the conference from the middle, finishing with 11 points and a game-high four blocks.
Their scoring surge was orchestrated by Alohi Robins-Hardy, who strengthened her case in the best setter race with 23 excellent sets on top of five points.
"We know that we are not done. We know that we have still the big goals and the most important part of the whole period ahead of us. So we need to keep working, attack every game like it's also a step in preparing for the final ones, and keep improving every day," said head coach Alessandro Lodi.
With a playoff berth already out of reach, the Highrisers came surprisingly close in the opening frame and even held a late 20-19 lead.
But a quick four-point burst swung the momentum back to Farm Fresh, which stole the set before running away with a 12-point rout in the second.
The Foxies pulled away even further in the third, building another double-digit cushion to seal the match in straight sets.
Highrisers continue to fall
Galeries Tower’s winless campaign has now stretched to seven games this conference, with things going from bad to worse.
Montenegrin winger Jelena Cvijovic nearly helped the Highrisers secure what would have been only their second set win in pool play, but she and the rest of the squad faded in the last two frames. She finished with 12 points along with nine receptions and eight digs.
Ysa Jimenez led the locals with nine markers, while France Ronquillo and Dimdim Pacres chipped in five apiece.
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