MANILA – Alas Pilipinas national women’s volleyball team renewed its mastery over Indonesia with a 20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 15-10 victory to claim the bronze medal in the SEA V.League second leg on Sunday night at Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Alyssa Solomon, Cherry Rondina, and Cherry Nunag took turns on the offensive end in the fifth set as the Philippine women’s volleyball squad finished the leg with a 1-2 win-loss slate for a third-place finish.
This was a repeat victory of the Jorge Edson Souza de Brito-mentored squad over Indonesia after also beating them during leg 1, where Alas Pilipinas Women also ended with a bronze medal.
Following a lopsided loss in the third set, Alas Pilipinas Women leaned on the exploits of Solomon, Rondina, and Jessica Galanza in the fourth set to establish a 19-13 lead en route to tying the set score at 2-2.
After surrendering the first point of the fifth set to Indonesia, Alas Pilipinas Women connected six straight points from Rondina and Solomon for a 6-1 edge, but Indonesia responded with a run to cut the deficit to 5-7.
Solomon, Rondina, and Julia Morado-de Guzman managed to convert for Alas Pilipinas Women, but Indonesia had their answers as they kept the match close at 9-11 late in the decider.
Nunag then stepped up with a drop hit and a block, while Indonesia also committed an error as Alas Pilipinas Women’s lead widened to 13-10. Another attack error from Indonesia, followed by a connection from Solomon, sealed the win for the Philippines.
Prior to defeating Indonesia in leg 2, Alas Pilipinas Women suffered defeats to Thailand on Friday night, 25-18, 25-23, 25-16, and Vietnam on Saturday evening, 25-16, 25-20, 25-22.
Alas Pilipinas Women are using the two-leg competition as part of their preparation for the Southeast Asian Games next year in Thailand.
Months ago, the national women’s volleyball team claimed a historic bronze medal finish in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila./PN
