Nxled welcomed team captain Brooke Van Sickle back with a bang, cruising to a dominant 25-16, 25-20, 25-18 victory over PLDT to kickstart its 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Siklab series on Tuesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Van Sickle missed the entirety of the PVL On Tour and Invitational after sustaining a minor tear in her right shoulder. During her absence, the Chameleons secured a silver-medal finish in the Invitational, falling to guest team Est Cola in the championship round.
The three-time league MVP spearheaded Nxled’s balanced offensive attack, finishing with 11 points on 10 attacks and one block, along with eight excellent digs, in her first game back after 199 days.
The Chameleons’ new combination also showed early promise, as Van Sickle teamed up with Gel Cayuna for the first time. The setter dished out 14 excellent sets while contributing seven points of her own.
(C) PVL Images
“We continued from where we finished. That was the Invitational Final, so for us, it’s simply a continuity game. As I told you 2,000 times, we try to be better and better and better. And today, we showed some more improvement, so we’re really happy,” said Nxled head coach Ettore Guidetti.
“And also, you know, when there are new rules, it’s not simple to immediately find a good alchemy and a good strategy. But it looks like we got good ideas on how to drive the solution in the game. So it worked well, and I’m really happy about that,” he added.
Myla Pablo and Jackie Acuña chipped in nine points apiece, while EJ Cariño and Jonah Sabete-Escamillan added seven each. Cariño also tallied 12 excellent receptions for Nxled.
A significant factor in the Chameleons’ dominant victory was their overwhelming advantage in attacks. Nxled recorded 50 attack points compared to just 27 for the High Speed Hitters, who struggled to establish their offensive rhythm throughout the match.
(C) PVL Images
PLDT star Savannah Davison was limited to 10 points on an eight-of-43 attacking clip, although she also contributed 18 excellent receptions and seven excellent digs.
Returning middle blocker Dell Palomata, who suited up for Alas Pilipinas in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, added nine points on six attacks and three blocks.
The High Speed Hitters struggled to find scoring support beyond Davison and Palomata, as Kianna Dy, Alleiah Malaluan, and Kiesha Bedonia managed just three points apiece in the one-hour, 20-minute match.
Nxled will look to build on its strong start when it faces Farm Fresh on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Filoil EcoOil Centre. Meanwhile, PLDT will seek a bounce-back victory against Akari on October 20 at 6 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
