With their backs against the wall, Petro Gazz star Brooke Van Sickle is leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of a quarterfinals berth in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
The Angels lost three of their first four games before Van Sickle and import Wilma Salas led an uprising that saw them win their last three matches, including two consecutive five-setters against contenders Creamline and PLDT.
While taking things one game at a time, the reigning All-Filipino Conference MVP noted that the defending champions are still playing with a sense of urgency due to their slow start in the conference.
“Yeah, I would say it’s both. Our backs are against the wall, and I feel like we’re just taking it day by day, game by game. I’m really proud of the team; we’ve been able to pull off five-setters, and that’s really hard to do. It’s very stressful,” said Van Sickle.
“When it gets to five sets, it can go either way. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. As an athlete, you want to play in these situations. Even though it’s stressful, you want to be in those environments because that’s what makes it fun. It makes the win a little bit special. But yeah, I would just say we’re fighting,” she added.
(C) PVL Images
After failing to close out the game in the fourth set, Petro Gazz needed a lift from their deadly 1-2 punch late in the fifth set to fend off the High Speed Hitters.
With the scores tied at 14, Salas unleashed a searing back-row attack before Van Sickle finished things off with a cross-court strike. The victory allowed the team to tie Capital1 for sixth place via identical 4-3 records.
The Cuban opposite spiker tallied 40 points with 36 attacks, three blocks, and an ace, along with 21 excellent receptions, while Van Sickle contributed 32 points and 10 excellent digs.
Van Sickle noted that everyone on the team understood the importance of their match against PLDT, which served as their biggest motivation in the thrilling encounter.
“Yeah, I would just say going into it, everyone knew how important this game was for us to be able to make it to the next round. So we knew we had to fight,” said the 26-year-old Fil-American spiker.
“I just tried to stay calm, doing everything I could, whether that was hitting or defense, just anything I could provide. I focused on helping the team stick together, and I feel like we did a really good job being cohesive. Yeah, I would just say, just focusing.”
