Marina Tushova made history once again on Saturday night.
After shattering the league’s scoring record with a 45-point outing nine days ago, Tushova reset the bar with a 49-point explosion in Capital1’s thrilling come-from-behind win over Nxled, 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-6, in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the Philsports Arena.
The 25-year-old Russian spiker registered 46 attacks, two aces, and one block, along with 14 excellent receptions, less than two weeks after setting the highest scoring mark in a single game during their five-set win over Choco Mucho in the first round.
Tushova—who is nursing a minor right wrist injury—dropped nine points in the fifth set, including the game-winning backrow kill, to power the Solar Spikers to their third consecutive victory, raising their record to 4-2.
“I don’t know, I’m just playing, you know? I just enjoy playing with my team. About this game, thanks to my coach, he saw me, he listened to me, and he gave me a lot of trust in this game, in the last game,” said Tushova after the win.
“I did a good job, we did a good job together, and today I felt like I was in the game. I didn’t feel like I was somewhere else. I was just attacking and making points. I was more comfortable and more confident,” she added.
(C) PVL Images
Capital1 needed a monster performance from Tushova, especially after being down 0-2 against the Chameleons early in the match, and the Russian reinforcement gladly answered the call, scoring 40 points in the first four sets.
The Solar Spikers then burst right out of the gates in the final set, unleashing a 10-3 run capped off by an ace from Iris Tolenada. The Chameleons never recovered from there as Capital1 secured the hard-fought triumph.
(C) PVL Images
Julia Ipac and Iris Tolenada each chipped in seven points, with the latter also contributing 17 excellent sets in the two-hour, 10-minute match.
Team captain Jorelle Singh added five markers in just two sets, while Des Clemente also contributed five points.
The Solar Spikers will try to make it four consecutive wins on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. at the same venue.
On the other hand, Nxled dropped its fifth game in six outings.
Jho Maraguinot paced the Chameleons with 19 points and 15 excellent receptions, while Chiara Permentilla and import Meegan Hart tallied 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Nxled will try to end its slump when they face off against sister team Akari, also on Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
