Lady Warriors to lean on imports firepower

MANILA, Philippines — Pocari Sweat is tapping a pair of six-foot Americans in Maddie Palmer and Arielle Love as the Lady Warriors prime up for their title retention drive in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference set to unfold next month.

Team manager Ken Mirasol said both Palmer, who played for Radford, and Love, who suited up for Duquesne, have arrived and started training with the squad bannered by Myla Pablo, Elaine Kasilag and Jeanette Panaga.

“They’ve arrived early so we can start preparations,” said Mirasol.

Palmer and Love are expected to provide firepower and defense for a team backstopped by league stalwarts Wendy Semana, Iari Yongco, Dell Palomata, Angel Mae Antipuesto and May Ann Pantino following a merger with Air Force during the off-season.

In college, Palmer recorded 1,494 kills, the highest in her school during the rally era while posting 1,116 digs, making her only the fifth player in Radford history with at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.