Petro Gazz import Lindsey Vander Weide liked what she saw from the Angels in their three-set debut victory over Choco Mucho in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference, Tuesday night.
Despite taking the game in straight sets, the reigning Reinforced Conference champion had to fight off a gutsy Flying Titans side that were led by Uzbek-Azerbaijani reinforcement Odina Oliyeva – who tallied a game-high 26 points to go along with 13 excellent receptions.
Vander Weide almost had the same production with 25 points on 20 attacks, three kill blocks, and two aces. But the clear difference was that the American import received more support from her local crew.
“It feels great, especially to do it in three [sets]. You never know how your team is gonna play until you play in an actual, real game. And I loved what we did today. That’s just the first of the rest of the conference, so I’m really confident in how we played today,” said Vander Weide.
Djanel Cheng did a great job distributing the ball with 19 excellent sets to go along with two points while Bang Pineda proved to be a thorn for Choco Mucho’s offense as she gathered 18 excellent digs and 14 receptions.
Myla Pablo and MJ Phillips also contributed in the win with eight points apiece. But it was Jonah Sabete who really stood out the most for the product of University of Oregon. She finished with a triple-double of 14 points, 14 excellent digs, and 11 receptions.
“I love having Jonah as my opposite, honestly. It takes a little pressure off me. If I’m not scoring super well, I know Jonah’s gonna be scoring super well,” said the 6-foot-3 Vander Weide.
“She’s a super-athletic player that knows how to score, she’s swinging at every ball no matter the set, so I feel really confident having her on the court, honestly.”
Next up for Vander Weide and the Angels is Creamline on Tuesday at 5:30 PM. And the 24-year-old outside hitter definitely feels pumped up to go up against the back-to-back champions.
“I’m really pumped up after the first game. I’m a gamer. I like to play games, so I’m excited that the season has finally come to start. So I’m definitely gonna be bringing it,” said Vander Weide.
“I mean for me, I don’t really know much about them personally, but I mean, that just kind of makes me excited. I like playing against good teams, I feel like I play better when we’re playing against tough competition. It will definitely be a tough game, but I’m excited about it.”
