The Cagayan Valley Lady Rising Suns overwhelmed a seemingly exhausted Meralco Power Spikers in straight sets, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21, Tuesday afternoon at the San Juan Arena. The win marked the team’s third straight victory since losing team captain Angge Tabaquero to a shoulder injury.
The Lady Rising Suns started off well in the early moments of the first set as they were able to wrest an 8-5 lead over the Power Spikers entering the first technical timeout of the set. A three-point outburst, powered by an Aby Maraño running attack and drop ball, tied the set for Meralco at 10-all. Both teams traded points until they were tied at the 14-point mark. Cagayan then scored two consecutive points to put them at the lead for good, upon entering into the second technical timeout with a 16-14 lead.
Aiza Maizo-Pontillas eventually put the Lady Rising Suns at set-point after scoring three straight points, two coming from spikes, and one via a block. While Meralco made a last ditch effort to salvage the set, getting to within 3, 24-21, a costly net interference error surrendered the set to Cagayan.
Cagayan forced the Power Spikers into errors at the start of second set, allowing them a 7-1 lead. Legacion momentarily stopped the drought for Meralco, scoring off of a checked ball, but Cagayan’s onslaught continued unabated. Elaine Sagun scored off a drop ball and Meralco committed a two-touch error that ballooned the Cagayan lead to nine, 14-5.
Meralco was able to battle back and trim the team’s deficit to four, as they were able to score on a 5-1 run, with two points coming off of a Maica Morado drop and kill. The Meralco errors reared its head once more; when a Faye Guevara service error and a Cha Cruz attack error put the set out of reach for the Power Spikers.
The trend of Cagayan starting out strong at the beginning of the sets continued in the third, with Maizo-Pontillas scoring two of the first four points for the Lady Rising Suns before a Cagayan error gave Meralco its first point of the set at 4-1. Despite numerous attempts by the Power Spikers to cut the deficit, they only managed to cut the deficit to two throughout the set. Unable to gain a foothold, Meralco eventually fell to the Lady Rising Suns after committing a four-touches error.
While the Power Spikers were able to notch more points off of blocks compared to Cagayan, 12-5, Cagayan scored more via spikes, 38-29, led by Maizo-Pontillas who scored 12 of her 14 points through attacks.
Meralco is now at 2-3, and will attempt to end their three-game losing streak when they face Fourbees-Perpetual on Sunday, May 10. On the other hand, Cagayan will go against Army on the same day, Sunday, May 10.
The Scores:
Cagayan (3) – Maizo-Pontillas 14, Vargas 9, Eulalio 8, Soriano 5, Pineda 5, Saet 4, Meneses 2, Gillego (L)
Meralco (0) – Maraño 9, Morada 9, Mercado 8, Cruz 7, Angustia 4, Legacion 3, Guevara 2, Tiu 1, Reyes (L)
