The games of PVL on Tour at the Capital Arena at Ilagan City, Isabela were straight up fireworks as teams from Pool A faced off against each other last night, July 13.
Foxies Sweeps Ilagan City Leg With 2-Straight Victories
The Farm Fresh Foxies sweeps their games at Ilagan City, Isabela quite literally as they win yet again going up versus the Petro Gazz Angels.
Farm Fresh completed the sweep with a gritty comeback in the third set, rallying from a 21-23 deficit by scoring four unanswered points. Rachel Ann Daquis ignited the run with an off-the-block hit, followed by a point off a Jonah Sabete error. Trisha Tubu then sealed the deal with two consecutive well-placed push shots, wrapping up the match in one hour and 46 minutes.
FINAL SCORES: 25-23, 25-21, 25-23
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
Tubu led the Foxies with 15 points, while Jolina Dela Cruz and Caitlin Viray chipped in 12 apiece. Alohi Robins-Hardy directed the offense with 13 excellent sets.
With their second straight win, the Foxies are now 2-1 in Pool A and have remained in strong contention for a playoff berth heading into the final stretch of the pool stage.
“It was not a great game of volleyball [for us], let’s be honest. But you can’t only rely on playing well to win,” said Farm Fresh head coach Alessandro Lodi, unfazed by their 30 errors in the match he said from an interview story in Tiebreaker Times.
“You need to win some ugly games. You need to win games where you’re not performing well.”
“We didn’t want to win like that, but we’ll take it as it is. Like yesterday, honestly — at the end of the fourth set — and today at the end of the third, we just insisted. We were stubborn and refused to lose. That says something about our resilience and character,” the Italian mentor added.
The Foxies aim to carry this momentum into their next matches at the USJ-R Coliseum in Cebu City on July 26 and 27, where they’ll face Galeries Tower and Nxled.
Petro Gazz, meanwhile, continued to slide, dropping to 1-3 and settling at fifth place just above Galeries Tower. The Angels also suffered a straight-set defeat to PLDT the previous day.
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
They are set to wrap up pool play on July 29 against Choco Mucho at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
Making A Great Connection for the High Speed Hitters
It appears that there isn’t stopping Kim Kianna Dy and Majoy Baron from making TikTok dance videos as well as winning games as the PLDT High Speed Hitters go 3-0.
PLDT seemed poised to sweep the match after Kiesha Bedonia’s attack gave them an 18-14 lead in the third set. But Choco Mucho refused to fold.
Spurred by local favorite Jem Ferrer and key contributors Ayesha Juegos and Mean Mendrez, the Flying Titans roared back with an 11-4 run to steal the third set, 25-22, and extend the contest.
The High Speed Hitters, however, quickly regrouped in the fourth. Jovie Prado, Majoy Baron, Mika Reyes, and Kianna Dy joined forces to put the match away for good.
FINAL SCORES: 25-22, 25-16, 25-22, 25-17
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
Kim Fajardo orchestrated the offense with precision, dishing out 29 excellent sets as five PLDT players reached double figures in scoring.
Dy and Prado led the scoring charge with 15 points each, Kianna Dy powered a well-rounded PLDT offense with 15 points and 3 blocks to claim Player of the Game honors, leading five High Speed Hitters who scored in double figures.
Kath Arado once again anchored the floor defense with 28 excellent digs and 14 excellent receptions.
Jov Prado also delivered 15 points, while Kiesha Bedonia and Majoy Baron each added 14, with Baron standing out on defense with six blocks. Mika Reyes chipped in 10 points.
The High Speed Hitters improved to 3-0, overtaking Nxled Chameleons (2-0) to sit alone at the top of the standings and move within reach of an outright quarterfinals berth.
“Nag-mindset naman yung team na hard games yung dito sa Isabela. Thankful kami na nakuha yung results pero one game at a time pa rin kami,” said PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort in an interview from Tiebreaker Times.
“We’re very happy of course [sa reception ng crowd] kasi sabi nga nila ngayon lang may pumunta dito sa area na ito so lahat sila excited. Thank you sa PVL and sa organizers para makapunta kami dito,” said Reyes as she acknowledged the 7,693 fans cheering for the PVL.
PLDT now heads to Cebu City to wrap up its pool play at the USJ-R Coliseum on July 26 and 27, facing Nxled and Galeries Tower.
On the other hand, Choco Mucho Flying Titans suffered its third consecutive loss, dropping to 1-3 and falling into a tie with Petro Gazz for fourth place in Pool A. The Flying Titans will next face the Angels on July 29 at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
Despite the loss, rookie Ayesha Juegos stood out with 13 points in a solid effort. Ferrer, who helped spark the third-set comeback, exited early in the fourth after tweaking her ankle with PLDT leading, 10-7.
Des Cheng and Jen Villegas scored nine points each, while libero Thang Ponce contributed 19 excellent receptions and 18 digs.
