The semis cast of the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference is now set, with the Akari Chargers, Petro Gazz Angels, Zus Coffee Thunderbelles, and PLDT High Speed Hitters also punching their tickets to the next round.
Akari Charges Past Farm Fresh
The Akari Chargers, despite being the lowest-seeded team in the quarters, proved too good for the top-seeded Farm Fresh Foxies, charging past the latter, 28-26, 30-28, 25-21, to book the first semis seat.
Annie Mitchem, a quiet operator for much of the preliminary round, turned up the charge this time, exploding for a team-high 25 points on top of 14 excellent receptions. Eli Soyud and Grethcel Soltones came alive for Akari as well, adding 10 apiece to back up their American reinforcement. Mars Alba, meanwhile, was steady all match long and finished with 19 excellent sets.
Eli Rousseaux paced Farm Fresh with her own 25-point outing but got little help from the rest of the Foxies, with no one else hitting double figures.
Petro Gazz Stuns Creamline
The Petro Gazz Angels followed Akari’s reversal by pulling out one of their own, stunning the Creamline Cool Smashers, 25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 25-14, in a match heavy on drama and full of twists and turns.
Lindsey Vander Weide suffering an injury early was one of those twists, but the Petro Gazz turned it into a positive nonetheless, playing inspired volleyball with their import sidelined. Leading the charge was Myla Pablo, who put up a vintage 26-point explosion to make up for Vander Weide’s extended absence. Brooke Van Sickle added 19 to help carry the load against the many-time champs. Then, with Creamline seemingly poised for a turn-around after winning the third set, Vander Weide returned for the fourth to stabilize Petro Gazz and help seal the deal.
Coco Schwan led the Cool Smashers with a modest 17-point outing, followed by Jeanette Panaga’s 14 and Tots Carlos’s 13.
Zus Coffee Blanks Capital1
Something big might just be brewing for the Zus Coffee Thunderbelles after the upstart squad handily beat the Capital1 Solar Spikers, 25-14, 25-20, 25-18, to barge into the semis.
Anna DeBeer fired 24 markers to lead the second-seeded Thunderbelles, who also got 8 points from Chinne Arroyo and 6 apiece from Jovelyn Gonzaga and AC Miner. For a while, it looked as if Zus Coffee, like Farm Fresh, were feeling the pressure of being a higher seed as Capital1 played them in lockstep early in the first set. But DeBeer would have none of that, leading a 19-7 turn-around after the Solar Spikers briefly took a 7-6 lead. It was all the momentum the Thunderbelles needed as they dominated the rest of the way.
Oleksandra Bytsenko carried the fight for Capital1 with 19 markers. Bella Belen, in her first playoff game in the PVL, added 9.
PLDT Exacts Vengeance on Cignal
The PLDT High Speed Hitters completed the semis cast with a hard-fought 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21 victory over sister team Cignal Super Spikers.
Savi Davison typified PLDT’s championship mettle with 21 big points, while import Anastasiia Bavykina added 15. Mary Joy Baron, Kim Kianna Dy, and Mika Reyes chipped in 11, 9, and 7, respectively, to give the High Speed Hitters the offense they needed to exact revenge on the Super Spikers.
Katrin Trebichavska had 18 markers to pace Cignal, who couldn’t replicate its preliminary round upset of PLDT. Erika Santos and Jacqueline Acuna finished with 12 apiece.
Next Up in the PVL Reinforced Conference
The PVL Reinforced Conference semis will be on Thursday, November 27, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. No. 8 Akari will go up against No. 4 Petro Gazz in the first match at 4:00 p.m., followed by second-seeded Zus Coffee facing off with third-seeded PLDT at 6:30 p.m.
