MANILA, Philippines — Lindsey Vander Weide went on a killing spree as she powered Petro Gazz to a 25-21, 27-25, 37-35 victory over Cignal last night and to the brink of a second Premier Volleyball League crown.
Playing with a mindset of an assassin, Vander Weide was cold-blooded in peppering the HD Spikers with 34 points, the bulk of which coming in the extended third and final set, that handed the Angels a 1-0 series lead in the PVL Reinforced Conference best-of-three finals.
Game Two is on Tuesday while a decider, if necessary, is on Thursday both at the PhilSports Arena.
Vander Weide smashed clutch kills after clutch kills to foil Cignal’s bid to extend the opener to another set.
The HD Spikers, headed by Tai Bierria’s 18 hits, did everything they could to extend the match, but Vander Weide was always there ready to respond for the Angels.
“That was stressful but I just knew whenever I get the ball, I need to score,” said Vander Weide. “I was really confident but the whole time, it was a scary situation.”
Unlike in its 25-14, 25-21, 25-27, 25-19 semis win over Cignal Tuesday, Petro Gazz didn’t let complacency get in.
“Maybe, our last game was a lesson. We lost that third set because of our complacency. But today (yesterday), we made sure we didn’t give them leeway and gave it all in this championship game,” said Petro Gazz coach Rald Ricafort.
Earlier, Creamline smothered Chery Tiggo, 25-22, 22-25, 25-5, 25-19, in Game One of the separate best-of-three showdown for third.