Brooke Van Sickle poured everything out on the court on Thursday night as she helped Petro Gazz fend off Chery Tiggo and secure Game 1 of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference third place series.
The Angels, despite a late scare from the Crossovers, managed to take the win in five sets, 22-25, 25-12, 25-18, 27-29, 15-12, and move closer to the bronze medal following a career-best performance from Van Sickle.
The 26-year-old Filipina-American spiker dropped a personal-best 36 points on 31 attacks, four blocks, and one ace to go along with 10 excellent receptions after two hours and 21 minutes of action at the packed Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Van Sickle credited her teammates for her monster performance, saying that their encouraging words and steady passing allowed her to move around freely on offense.
“Yeah, I mean, for me, again, I didn’t even know about the points because I don’t… It’s like I know people care, but like, you know, it’s okay. For me, I would rather just win and you know, I can’t do it without my teammates,” said Van Sickle.
“DJ (Djanel Cheng) was setting great balls, we’re picking up balls, we’re passing really well and my teammates, in like three rotations, they relieved (me) from passing, so I don’t have to pass as much now, so that like lets me free up a lot more,” she continued.
“The coaches too, they told me like, ‘hey, if you’re in a situation where you know, you feel stressed or anything, like try to go here’, and all my teammates do too, they’re like ‘hey, challenge this blocker’, they give me strategies a lot. So I’m very thankful for that and they help me.”
(C) Joaqui Flores/PVL
The University of Hawaii standout said that it was a great bounce-back victory for Petro Gazz. They were coming off back-to-back losses to Creamline and Petro Gazz in the semifinals, which knocked them out of contention for the finals.
Van Sickle shared that the Angels had a team bonding session before the bronze series, a move that definitely helped them get back on track.
“Yeah, I mean, you know the last two games, they’re tough teams. Losing sucks, you know, no one wants to lose but I feel they’re good opportunities to learn and self-reflect, our team did a good job. We actually had a little potluck, so we had a little team bonding to be like, hey let’s make sure we’re on the same page,” said the PNVF Champions League MVP.
“You know, it sucks, but you know, tomorrow’s a new day, we have to stick together and you know, be one family, be one unit as we keep moving on. So I feel like we did a good job bouncing back.”
Van Sickle and Petro Gazz look to finish off the series and secure their first podium finish since the 2023 First All-Filipino Conference in Game 2 on Sunday, 4:00 p.m. at the same venue.
