Cignal, RC bounce back, whip Superliga foes

CIGNAL HD cruised past Foton while RC Cola-Air Force turned back Mane ‘N Tail, using impressive victories to get back on track last night in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix volleyball presented by Asics at Cuneta Astrodome.

The HD Spikers had a trouble-free 27-25, 25-14, 25-21 victory over the Tornadoes to chalk up their third win in four matches.

Cignal fought through Foton’s tough stand in the first and got a key break when the Tornadoes import, Irina Tarasova, hurt her neck in the second frame.

Lindsay Stalzer led Cignal with 23 points, while Sarah Ammerman had 15.

Earlier, the Raiders overcame a third set hiccup to down the hard-fighting Lady Stallions, 25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22, to also get back to the win column.

Both Cignal and RC Cola-Air Force are coming off losses to the same team—Petron—last week.

Rhea Dimaculangan acted as hinge for the Raiders’ powerful frontline, dishing out 48 excellent sets to feed gunners Emily Brown, Bonita Wise and Iari Yongco.

Brown banged in 20 points, 18 on kills, while Wise and Yongco contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively, as RC Cola-Air Force climbed to 3-2.

Together, their efforts were too much even for the high-scoring Kristy Jaeckel, who unloaded 38 markers—two points short of her own league record—for Mane ‘N Tail, which absorbed its third loss in four games.

Raiders coach Rhovyl Verayo credited his wards for standing up against Jaeckel. He said he deployed two blockers against her.

“We had only one battle cry prior to the start of this game: It’s all about Jaeckel,” said Verayo. “We might have failed to stop her, but somehow we were successful in minimizing the damage.”

Kaylee Manns added 12 points for the Lady Stallions.

The Raiders were better on defense, completing 34 digs compared to just 23 by Mane ‘N Tail.