Valdez plays through injured ankle, tows Creamline past Air Force in thriller

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Alyssa Valdez played through an injured ankle to lead Creamline to only its second win in the Premier Volleyball League after overcoming Philippine Air Force in five sets, 25-21, 28-26, 23-25, 12-25, 15-12, Saturday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Valdez, the superstar spiker and skipper, hurt her right ankle in the fourth set, but endured the pain to register 25 points as the Cool Smashers improved to 2-3 record.

Valdez fell awkwardly in the fourth set with her team leading, 22-9, but she was quick to shrug off the pain and somehow managed to finish the game.

“It’s really hard if we’ll just rely on Alyssa, but the good thing is everyone stepped up,” said Creamline assistant coach Sherwin Meneses.

Pau Soriano, Cesca Racraquin and, Ivy Remua also finished in double figures with 13, 11, and 10 points, respectively, to aid their injured captain.

Creamline outscored Air Force, 5-1, in the final moments of the match with Valdez finishing things off.

Joy Cases led Air Force with 21 points while Jocemer Tapic added 14 as the Lady jet Spikers slipped to 1-5.