PVL: Petro Gazz import Lindsey Vander Weide named Finals MVP

Petrogazz import Lindsey Vander Weide. –PVL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Lindsey Vander Weide capped her masterful 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference with a Finals MVP award after delivering Petro Gazz’s second straight championship on Tuesday at Philsports Arena.

The American import was crowned the best player of the Finals after pouring in 19 points to complete Petro Gazz’s series sweep of Cignal, 25-17, 22-25, 25-12, 25-22, in Finals Game 2.

Vander Weide became the second Finals MVP from Petro Gazz after Janisa Johnson delivered the team’s maiden crown in 2019.

She was also named the Best Foreign Player of the tournament, where she averaged 23.375 points per game in the eliminations.

The University of Oregon product was the second Angel to win the award for imports after Wilma Salas earned it three years ago.

Vander Weide unleashed a career-high 34 points in Game 1 as Petro Gazz drew first blood with a 25-21, 27-25, 37-35 victory over Cignal last Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“It feels great. I didn’t know how the awards worked, at all. I didn’t know there was a Finals MVP, and I didn’t know it was gonna happen. So when my name was called, I mean it’s a great feeling. The finals is the most important part of the season, and I’m glad that I was able to help my team win this, so it feels really good,” she said.

She became the first PVL guest player to win the Finals MVP and Best Import at the same time.