PLDT took the solo number one spot in Pool A after staving off Nxled in straight sets, 32-30, 25-18, 25-17, for its third straight victory in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference, Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
The High Speed Hitters leaned on brilliant performances from Russian import Elena Samoilenko and Erika Santos against the Chameleons to move up to the top via a clean 3-0 record.
Samoilenko continued where she left off, delivering 20 points, 19 of which came from attacks, to go along with nine excellent receptions for PLDT. Meanwhile, Santos played her best game of the conference with 19 points on 15 attacks and four kill blocks.
“Good start? Ah yes, good start. Sana matuloy tuloy namin hanggang sa last two games. Mabigat na yung last two, yung Chery and Farm Fresh,” said High Speed Hitters head coach Rald Ricafort.
“Trabaho lang talaga every game. Kung san kami dalin ng trabaho. Kung manalo, eh di bonus samin, kung hindi, trabaho padin kung saan kami abutan. Siguro dun muna talaga,” he added.
Nxled brought the fight in the first set, keeping toe-to-toe with PLDT before eventually taking a 30-29 advantage.
(C) PVL Images
However, Fiola Ceballos came through for the High Speed Hitters and scored a crucial attack that knotted the scores at 30-all. Chiara Permentilla then committed a costly attack error before Samoilenko hammered down the set-winning kill that gave her side a 1-0 lead.
It was all PLDT from there, busting down the Chameleons in the next two frames to secure the win after an hour and 38 minutes.
Ceballos scored eight points and netted 12 excellent digs and five excellent receptions, while Majoy Baron got five blocks to finish with six markers. Mika Reyes and Kim Fajardo chipped in five points each, with the latter also tossing 14 excellent sets.
PLDT will try to make it four in a row against Chery Tiggo on Saturday, 5:00 p.m. at the same venue.
Meanwhile, the Chameleons slid to 1-2 tied with Farm Fresh in the fourth to fifth spots.
(C) PVL Images
Permentilla led the way for Nxled with 15 points and 11 excellent receptions, while Trisha Genesis had 12 points, nine excellent receptions, and seven excellent digs in the loss.
American middle blocker Meegan Hart was limited to just seven points with three coming from blocks.
Nxled will try to bounce back against Farm Fresh also on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
