Kurashiki secured its second straight win in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference semifinals with a sweep of Cignal, 25-23, 25-16, 25-23, on Monday afternoon at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
In the first battle between a foreign guest squad and a local PVL team, the Ablaze maintained their clean slate with a 2-0 win-loss card, while the HD Spikers fell to their second straight loss with a 1-3 slate.
Asaka Tamaru led the scoring punch once again for Kurashiki with 16 points on 15 attacks and a block in their 95-minute straight-set win against Cignal.
Saya Taniguchi added 11 points of her own, while team captain Kyoka Ohshima led the Ablaze’s offense with 22 excellent sets and three markers.
“It was a good game. Cignal’s offense is stronger than ours that is why we focused on our defense,” said Kurashiki head coach Hideo Suzuki through an interpreter.
The HD Spikers had the chance to extend the match to a fourth set with a 23-22 lead behind an attack and block from Toni Basas and Jacq Acuna, respectively.
However, the Ablaze went on a 3-0 finishing blow, behind a cross-court and off-the-block hit from Tanabe Saki and an error from Acuna to end, 25-23.
Kurashiki bucked an error-plagued opening set, surviving Cignal behind a cross-court hit and an off-the-block attack from Yukino Yano and Saya Taniguchi to close, 25-23.
The Ablaze built a 10-3 run in the second set to break an early 6-6 deadlock against the HD Spikers, where Tanabe and main gun Asaka Tamaru combined for half of those markers to run away with an eight-point lead, 17-9.
Ces Molina paced Cignal in the losing effort with 12 points, while Kurashiki’s impressive floor defense kept any other HD Spiker from scoring more than five markers.
For the match, the Ablaze tallied 62 total digs, a far cry from the HD Spikers’ 42 digs. In the loss, Cignal’s main libero Jheck Dionela did not play due to a minor sprain.
Kurashiki looks to bag its third consecutive victory when it takes on F2 Logistics tomorrow, while Cignal aims to snap its two-game skid when it faces Kinh Bắc-Bắc Ninh on Thursday. (Ernest Martin Tuazon)
