POCARI Sweat-Air Force, survived BanKo Perlas, 25-22, 17-25, 16-25, 26-24, 15-11, to draw first blood in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference battle for third place on Sunday at MOA Arena.
American import Madeline Palmer scored 24 points, 17 digs and 16 excellent receptions as last year’s champions Lady Warriors try to salvage the bronze medal.
“We played like we’re gonna lose and the change is that we played we wanted to win instead of playing not to lose, it’s just a different mindset and I think that was our improvement,” said Palmer.
Pocari Sweat-Air Force saw a four-point lead trimmed to one, 9-10, in the fifth before going on a 5-2 spurt to end the match.
“I just said to stay focused and play with heart,” said Palmer.
Ari Love and Dell Palomata had 17 and 13 points, respectively, for Pocari Sweat-Air Force.
American reinforcement Lakia Bright scored 33 points and registered 20 digs for BanKo Perlas, Thai import Jutarat Montripila added 17 and Amy Ahomiro contributed 14.
The second match of the best-of-three series is on Wednesday.
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