Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors react after scoring a point. PVL MEDIA BUREAU
ILOCOS NORTE—Sta. Lucia weathered PLDT Home Fibr’s spirited rally in the last two sets and pounded out a 25-18, 25-19, 25-21 victory as the Lady Realtors got back in the thick of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference fight at PCV Socio-Civic Cultural Center here on Monday.
Mika Reyes bounced back from a measly three-hit showing in the team’s four-set loss to Creamline on Saturday, finishing with 11 points built around nine attacks to anchor the Lady Realtors.
Sta. Lucia could’ve made it a lot quicker but heavy downpour caused another 40-minute delay in the match following a long suspension of the Petro Gazz-Army clash that took five hours and six minutes to finish Sunday.
Down by a set and 15-20 behind in the second frame, the Power Hitters strung up three straight hits behind Jorelle Singh and Joy Soyud to threaten. But the Lady Realtors came out of a timely huddle a lot more organized, with Dell Palomata stepping up with a push and a quick hit.
A couple of PLDT miscues and a Jonah Sabete power hit put Sta. Lucia a set away from recovering from a Creamline loss and back in the hunt in the short, cutthroat single round eliminations.
Meanwhile, Creamline and Petro Gazz face off today (Tuesday) in a duel of fancied teams.
The Angels likewise needed an extra set to repulse the Black Mamba Army Lady Troopers, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21, in a long delayed match Sunday, as their new stars are still trying to fit into the system, including outside hitters Gretchel Soltones and Myla Pablo and opposite hitter Ces Molina.
The troika actually combined for 49 hits, but Petro Gazz fans believe they still got more to show as the Angels try to build confidence and play with more cohesion in their next few games.
Gametime is at 3 p.m. with the likes of Alyssa Valdez, Michele Gumabao and Jema Galanza bracing for a clash of firepower against Soltones, Pablo and Molina in a match that will also put into focus each team’s net defense and floor coverage.