It might not show in the rankings, but the still-gelling Akari squad showed flashes of their potential throughout this conference. Following their opening loss to PLDT, the Chargers forced an elite Chery Tiggo crew to a deciding fifth set, held their own against the defending Invitational Conference champions Creamline, survived a tough challenge from Gerflor, and almost pulled off a reverse sweep vs another championship-caliber team in Petro Gazz.
Albeit finishing 10th (1-5 record), the Akari Chargers proved once again that that they can keep up with the best of ’em.
The Akari Chargers pushed the Petro Gazz Angels to the edge, before getting denied of a comeback in five hard-fought sets, 19-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20, 7-15, in the classification round of the 2023 PVL Conference Invitational at the PhilSports Arena, July 20.
Eli Soyud carried the load off the bench with 19 points including three blocks. Erika Raagas, who did not see action in the last two games, also answered the call for Akari with 14 points and 12 excellent receptions.
Meanwhile, Faith Nisperos had a rough day in the office as she was limited to just 11 markers. She, however, made up for her subpar offense with 12 excellent receptions of her own.
On the other hand, Petro Gazz ace Grethcel Soltones was a thorn on the side of Akari. The outside hitter topscored for the Angels with 19 points, three coming from blocks. Jonah Sabete tallied 15 points, while Aiza Pontillas and Marian Buitre completed the supporting cast with 10 markers apiece.
The Chargers found themselves in an 0-2 hole after a volleyball masterclass from the Angels. Soyud and Raagas then took matters into their hands to spearhead momentum-building victories in the third and fourth set.
However, in the decider, Akari had nothing left in the tank.
After trailing by seven midway through the fifth canto, the Chargers couldn’t recover as Petro Gazz never took its foot off the gas pedal and put the game away for good.
The error department was again a problem for the ladies in black, giving away 35 free points to their opponents. On the flip side, the Angels committed 29 miscues.
Dindin Santiago-Manabat was also far from her usual output, garnering only eight points in the losing effort.
Even though they ended their Invitational campaign on a losing note, team captain Michell Cobb was still proud of her team for going down swinging.
“We were down by 2 but I’m glad that the whole team had the mindset that since this is the last game, going down without a fight is not an option,” Cobb marveled.
As per the setter, the team will make use of the learning they gained from this conference. The losses were a tough pill to swallow, but the heartbreaks will only make them stronger in the future.
“The whole conference was a very good experience for us. We learned a lot and as a collective, we realized that we have room to grow which we will use for the next conference,” she said.
