The quarterfinals Day 1 of the PVL on Tour began last night, August 7, and volleyball fans at Philsports Arena in Pasig City saw two teams fight tooth and nail just to enter the semifinals.
Erika Santos Goes for a Sweep and Brings Cignal to the Semis
For the first match of the playoffs, the Cignal HD Spikers faced off against the Akari Chargers.
Despite a slow start and a lengthy layoff, the HD Spikers shook off early rust and flipped a four-point deficit into a strong finish in the opening frame. Erika Santos sparked the comeback, scoring eight of her eventual 24 points in the first set alone. Cignal responded to Akari’s late push with a timely scoring burst and capitalized on the Chargers’ unforced errors, which included a net violation by Eli Soyud that handed them a set point at 24-18.
Although Akari saved two points through a Domingo block and a Cignal miscue, the HD Spikers closed out the frame on a strong hit that the Chargers couldn’t recover, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set was all Cignal. With Akari faltering on both ends, especially in their defensive coverage, this prompted the HD Spikers to race to a 10-5 lead and never looked back. Santos once again took over, firing 11 points in the set with a masterful mix of hard spikes, down-the-line winners, and sharp crosscourt finishes.
Cignal controlled the tempo with ease, recording 17 attack points in the set while limiting Akari to just four. The one-sided 25-10 finish took only 23 minutes and left the Chargers visibly rattled. Head coach Tina Salak tried to rally her team from the sidelines, but the cohesion and spark that carried them to a sweep of Petro Gazz just two days earlier was nowhere to be found.
Determined to avoid a sweep, Akari regrouped in the third set and briefly seized momentum behind Ced Domingo’s running attack, which gave them a 17-14 edge. However, Cignal quickly found its footing. A tip from Santos tied the set at 18, followed by Jackie Acuña’s block on Domingo that flipped the lead.
The Chargers regained the advantage at 24-23 on a block touch by Ivy Lacsina, but Cignal’s composure in the clutch proved decisive. The HD Spikers fended off two set points before Santos again stepped up, delivering the match-winning crosscourt shot on their third match point. Akari challenged the call, but replays confirmed the ball landed cleanly on the line, sealing Cignal’s place in the semifinals.
FINAL SCORES = Set 1: 25-20, Set 2: 25-10, Set 3: 28-26
Erika Santos of the HD Spikers capped off another stellar performance with 24 points on 43% attack efficiency, earning her another Best Player of the Game award.
Roselyn Doria contributed 10 points, while Ishie Lalongisip added nine. Tin Tiamzon and Jackie Acuña chipped in six apiece.
Akari’s offense was led by Soyud with 13 points and Domingo with 11. Chenie Tagaod and Ezra Madrigal only had five points apiece, while Lacsina and Grethcel Soltones were held to just four each.
With the win, Cignal moved into the knockout semifinals, where it will face the winner of the Nxled vs. Chery Tiggo quarterfinal. The match is set for Tuesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Savi Davidson Powers a Star-Studded PLDT for a Quarterfinals Win
If you’re playing against a team that features superstar players in the name of Mika Reyes, Majoy Baron, and Kim Kianna Dy, you’d really think it can’t get worse than that.
But for the PLDT High Speed Hitters, having Savi Davidson play in the quarterfinals against the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles was nothing more than a hidden ace for their squad
PLDT overcame a shaky beginning in the opening frame to take control midway through the set. ZUS Coffee, behind Cloanne Mondonedo’s playmaking and the attacks of Jovelyn Gonzaga and Fiola Ceballos, erased a 16-11 deficit and even grabbed a 19-18 edge. The Thunderbelles stayed in step after Maika Ortiz answered Savi Davison’s back-row drop with a quick hit. But the High Speed Hitters closed strong, with Jovie Prado sparking a decisive 5-0 run that included an ace and a Kim Dy block.
Davison, playing only her 2nd game of the preseason, ended the set with a powerful spike to get the Set 1 win.
The returning Fil-Canadian open spiker carried her momentum into the second set, again scoring 10 points. PLDT trailed briefly at 14-15 before Davison strung together five straight hits, giving her team a 22-18 cushion. ZUS Coffee stopped the run with a combination play, but service and attack errors at crucial moments hurt their chances.
Prado added another key kill, and Chinnie Arroyo’s miscue sealed the Set 2, putting the High Speed Hitters ahead two frames to none.
PLDT opened the third with a commanding 16-6 advantage, only for ZUS Coffee to rally within 14-17 after a Ceballos hit. Coach Rald Ricafort called a timeout, and his team responded with a five-point burst highlighted by a Mika Reyes quick, a Dy off-the-block hit, and opponent errors.
The Thunderbelles mounted one last push, trimming the gap to four, but Dy’s clutch kill and Davison’s two closing points, which were a booming attack and a putaway from an overpass to secure the win via sweep.
FINAL SCORES = Set 1: 25-21, Set 2: 25-21, Set 3: 25-19
Savi Davidson ended with 28 points and seven digs as she got an unexpected call-up to be one of the starters from PLDT. Other contributors were Prado scoring 10, Dy added eight, while Reyes, Dell Palomata, and Majoy Baron chipped in five each. Setter, Kim Fajardo, also ended with 19 excellent sets.
Arroyo was only held to 10 points for the Thunderbelles. Rookie AC Miner paced ZUS Coffee with 13 markers, but Gonzaga and Ceballos were limited to single digits.
The High Speed Hitters are now 6-0 in the entire preseason as they ended the eliminations 5-0. PLDT now awaits the winner of the Creamline versus Farm Fresh quarterfinals matchup.
