Written by Akari Sports Staff | Photo from the PVL
Nxled finally snapped out of stupor, halting a four-game skid with a 20-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-19 victory over ZUS Coffee to revive its bid to reach the qualifying round campaign of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Playtime Filoil Centre late Thursday.
The Chameleons had to weather a strong opening surge from the Thunderbelles, who seized the first set, before regrouping and leaning on their experience and depth to regain control from the second set onward.
The victory was a much-needed boost for Nxled, which stormed into the conference with three straight wins behind a star-studded lineup following a revamp that looked poised to dominate the field.
“This game is very important. This conference is very unpredictable. There’s no undefeated team right now, so every point matters. I’m very proud of my team to be able to lock in, focus and bounce back,” said Brooke Van Sickle, who delivered a triple-double performance of 20 points, 12 receptions, and 10 digs.
Jonah Sabete-Escamillan backed Van Sickle with 19 points, including three blocks, while MJ Phillips sizzled at the middle and finished with 12 markers, also spiked by three blocks.
Myla Pablo chipped in eight points as Nxled leaned on its slight statistical edge to outlast ZUS Coffee.
“Yeah, I mean, the four-straight loss, I mean, it wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t, you know, happy times,” said Van Sickle.
“But we’re able to stick together. And I’m really proud of all the girls. It’s not just me, but I feel like as a team, cohesively, we all, like, understand what we need to do and what we need to get done.
“And we continue to push each other in the gym and stay together. I think that’s something super important for teams, like, going through losing streaks, is to be able to stay together.
“Because going through tough times, it’s easy to be able to point fingers or be able just to be like, oh, well, it’s not going our way, and kind of just, like, roll over. But we’re really glad with this team that no matter what, we always come out and we’re like, okay, new day, let’s go. Let’s keep a positive attitude. Let’s keep trying to improve, like, work,” the three-time PVL MVP added.
The Chameleons slightly won in attacks, 54-53, and blocks, 11-10, while also delivering six service aces compared to the Thunderbelles’ two.
