KingWhale Taipei impressed in its Premier Volleyball League (PVL) debut with a three-set win over Army-Black Mamba, 26-24, 25-18, 26-24, in the 2022 Invitational Conference semifinals on Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Team captain and Player of the Game Liao Yi-jen steered the offense with 22 excellent sets and led three players in double-digit scoring for the Taiwanese side, which fought off set points in the first and third sets to complete the sweep.
Despite failing to score a single win in the playoffs, the Lady Troopers ended the mid-season tournament at fifth place - an improvement from their seventh-place finish in the last conference of the pioneering commercial volleyball league.
Brazilian Beatriz Flavio de Carvalho dominated in the opposite side with 14 points off 13 attacks while Chen Li-jun and Wang Yu-wen chipped in 10 points each as KingWhale dominated Army in all departments - 47-30 in attacks, 22-12 in setting, 78-50 in digs and 30-26 in receptions.
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The Taiwanese club took a 23-20 lead in the opening set, but Mich Morente came off the bench and sparked a 4-0 run that enabled the Lady Troopers to reach set point, 23-24.
But as home fans got excited, Flavio de Carvalho and Chen responded with a 3-0 counter-attack to put the set away.
The same sequence unfolded in the third set after the Lady Troopers reached set point first at 23-24. But a timely substitution from head coach Teng Yen-min ended Army's hopes as Chang Chih-hsuan delivered the final blows for KingWhale.
No Lady Trooper reached double figures in scoring, with Jovelyn Gonzaga tallying a team-high eight points and 14 digs.
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