The Petro Gazz Angels. PVL Media Bureau
ANTIPOLO (UPDATED) – Petro Gazz avenged its upset loss in the opener.
The Angels thwarted Zus Coffee in Game 2, 25-19, 25-13, 28-26, to level the playing field in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference best-of-three Quarterfinals on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.
They completed the sweep despite the Thunderbelles' gallant stand in the final period.
Holding a 23-20 cushion late in the match, the Brooke Van Sickle-led squad eventually squandered that lead as it saw itself in a race to 28; the Thunderbelles were even a point away from securing the set at 25-24.
From there, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Jonah Sabete managed to score through their attacks, but Zus's Jov Gonzaga was there to keep her team alive for a 26-all count.
Van Sickle fired a spike to reach match point, and an overreach from the other side gifted the three-set win to the Angels.
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READ: PVL: Zus Coffee pulls off massive upset vs Petro Gazz in Game 1 of quarters
The opening chapter was a game of runs, as the Thunderbelles managed to close within one, 18-19, after letting loose four unanswered points midway through the period.
But the Angels made sure to get back on track, uncorking a 6-1 finishing kick built on MJ Phillips' hit, Myla Pablo's block point, a couple of errors from Jerry Yee's wards, and Van Sickle's set-clinching attack for a 1-0 lead.
The Angels held the lead for good in Set 2 after a 6-0 rally from the 5-all count for a 11-5 spread, as the separation eventually ballooned to double digits at the 21-11 markers.
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Notably, they didn't commit a single error that frame, while clinching five block points.
"I'm just proud of the team. We came out flat last game, and I thought, this one, we had a goal just to have fun, and to come out energized, and I thought we did a really good job at that," said Van Sickle during the postgame press conference.
Van Sickle led all scorers with 17 points anchored mostly on attacks, while three other Angels were also in twin-digit scoring.
Phillips, Pablo, and Jonah Sabete registered 11 points each, completing the supporting cast. Playmaker Chie Saet enabled that offense, listing 18 excellent sets in total.
Chinnie Arroyo was the lone bright spot in Zus Coffee, being the only Thunderbelle in double digits with 10 points.