BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE — Creamline averted a huge collapse from the upset-seeking Perlas, 25-12, 22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10, to lock the top seed in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center, Friday.
The Cool Smashers ended the eliminations at the top spot with a league-best 8-1 standing.
“We give credit to Perlas today, they really gave a good fight. Floor defense nila overall total team effort but we believed sa tiwala ng mga coaches namin na everyone in our team ay gagawa,” said Creamline team captain Alyssa Valdez.
Looking to finish off Perlas, Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Jema Galanza pushed Creamline to an 8-3 advantage to open the final set.
A Jho Maraguinot attack error gave the Cool Smashers a 12-6 lead.
Perlas closed the gap to within three but Valdez came through. The Heather Guino-o committed an attack error to put Creamline at match-point.
Maraguinot delivered one last hit before another attack error from Guino-o ended the match at 15-10.
Valdez topped the scoring column anew with 24 points while Carlos had an all-around game with 20 points, 21 excellent digs, and 12 excellent receptions.
The struggling Galanza finally got her rhythm back with 13 points while Jia Morado chipped in 25 excellent sets, 16 digs, and three points.
“Jema came back at the right time and alam naming hinihintay nya lan g din ito we’re just happy for her also,” added Valdez.
Creamline came in with guns blazing, dominating the entire first set before eventually surrendering the next two sets to the Cherry Nunag-led Perlas.
Perlas had the chance to close out the match in four sets, but Carlos managed to keep the Cool Smashers alive with three consecutive points in the fourth frame.
Nunag led Perlas’ gallant stand with 17 points off 13 attacks, three blocks, and an ace while Guino-o and Maragunot added 14 and 12 markers each.
Gel Cayuna ended with 44 excellent sets along with six points as the Perlas Spikers remained at the bottom of the standings with a 1-7 card.
The Perlas Spikers remained at the bottom of the standings with a 1-7 card.
Perlas will take on BaliPure tomorrow, Saturday at 1:00 PM for its final game of the season.
