Akari holds off Capital1
AKARI brushed off a stirring Capital1 stand in the third set to pull off a 25-9, 25-17, 26-24 victory to move up to the upper half of the standings in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference yesterday at the Philsports Arena.
Ivy Lacsina hammered 15 kills and had four receptions while Eli Soyud had three blocks for a nine-point effort and collected nine digs as the Chargers posted their first straight-set win of the conference.
Posting its second straight victory, Akari moved in a tie with idle Chery Tiggo at 5-4 in fifth and sixth place.
“We were more patient in the first set to break our habit of slow starts.” said Lacsina. “We just followed the game plan, made adjustments on the court, and supported each other.”
“This win is a big morale booster, but we won’t stop working. It’s back to the drawing board and following coach Taka (Minowa)’s game plan,” the Chargers ace hitter added.
Ced Domingo made her much-anticipated return after recovering from a knee injury sustained during Akari’s Reinforced Conference semifinals win against PLDT last year, having a brief appearance in the first set.
Akari will face Choco Mucho on Saturday at the same Pasig venue.
Meanwhile, the Solar Spikers dropped to 1-7 and have lost four in a row.
Capital1, which is now level with Galeries Tower at the near-bottom of the standings, will take on Cignal on Thursday.
Trisha Genesis led the Solar Spikers with 14 points while Shola Alvarez, who entered in the third set, scored seven points.
After a forgettable first two sets including the opener where it only scored nine points, Capital1 finally found its groove in the third, and was actually on pace to extend the match, reaching set point first at 24-22.
The Chargers made sure that there will be no meltdown, scoring the third set’s last four points, highlighted by Faith Nisperos’ match-clinching kill.
