ILAGAN, ISABELA — Like a true friend, Lindsey Vander Weide made sure Brooke Van Sickle’s tireless effort didn’t go to waste, stepping up when it mattered most to lift Petro Gazz to a gritty bounce-back win over Chery Tiggo EV on Saturday night.
Van Sickle was relentless on floor defense, diving for every loose ball and keeping the Angels within striking distance in a tense four-set battle that saw them trail by three, 15-18, midway through the final frame.
The two-time PVL MVP also contributed offensively, scoring three points in a 4-2 spurt that cut the deficit to just one, 19-20. But Yunieska Batista momentarily restored order for the upset-seeking Crossovers with a powerful kill through the block.
Seeing her former college teammate refuse to give up ignited a spark in Vander Weide. The former PVL Best Import then took matters into her own hands, unleashing a blistering display of firepower as she scored five straight points to cap a 6-0 closing run that sealed Petro Gazz’s 25-15, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21 victory at the Capital Arena here.
“Yeah, I mean, on the last six points, Brooke was digging every single ball. So when Brooke digs that ball, it fires me up. I have to put that ball away for her,” said the American reinforcement, who once played alongside Van Sickle at the University of Oregon.
(C) PVL Images
Vander Weide lauded Van Sickle’s hustle on both ends of the court, saying her late scoring spree was made possible by her teammate’s defensive brilliance.
“So yeah, I put those five balls away or however many it was, but if Brooke wasn’t back there, I wouldn’t have even had the opportunity. It just comes from us playing as a team — someone digging, someone sending me a perfect ball, and me putting it away,” she added.
Van Sickle finished with 25 points, 20 excellent digs, and 15 excellent receptions. Vander Weide matched her output with 25 points built on 19 attacks, five aces, and one block in the two-hour showdown — a strong response to their four-set loss to defending champion Creamline earlier this week.
For her part, the Fil-Hawaiian spiker said she couldn’t be prouder of how the team handled adversity and pressure down the stretch.
“I’m really proud of the team. I thought a lot of people came in and did their job very well. It was up and down a little bit, so we had to deal with that as a team. But I thought we handled the pressure really well,” said Van Sickle.
