MANILA – Petron Blaze Spikers kept its unbeaten slate in the 2019 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix after crushing Foton Tornadoes, 25-20, 25-13, 25-21, on Tuesday night at the San Juan Arena.
Stephanie Niemer led the way with 17 points, on 11 attacks, five service aces and a block, while Katherine Bell added 14 markers for the defending champions Blaze Spikers, which improved to 8-0 win-loss slate.
The Blaze Spikers started flat in the opening set with the Tornadoes able to force an 18-all deadlock before Niemer and Bell spearheaded a 7-2 finishing run to clinch the 1-0 set edge.
Petron easily defeated the Tornadoes in the second set but struggled in the third frame as they saw their seven-point edge trimmed to 20-22 before Foton committed errors to hand the victory to their opponents.
“It’s always nice to win but that was a rough game for us,” said Niemer. “I think it was not our best game. We need a little bit focused and work on things that we kind of lacking.”
Courtney Felinski and Milagros Collar had 12 markers apiece while Carmina Aganon chipped in 10 markers for the Tornadoes, which suffered its seventh straight loss after opening the season with a win.
Meanwhile, Cignal HD Spikers overcame a sluggish first set to score a come-from-behind 21-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-19 triumph over the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors to kick off its second round campaign on a winning note.
Ana Artemeva finished with a team-high 17 points while Erica Wilson managed 16 markers for the HD Spikers (5-3).Casey Schoenlein was the lone double-digits scores for the Lady Realtors (2-6) with 16 markers./PN
