Brooke Van Sickle was on fire when she powered Petro Gazz to a four-set win over Zus Coffee in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference late Thursday at the Philsports Arena.

But attacking the Thunderbelles defense wasn’t easy.

The Filipino-American spiker admitted that posting 25 kills out of her 27 points wasn’t easy as the Thunderbelles established a solid defensive wall that left them bleeding for their points in their grueling match that lasted for more than two hours.

The imposing frontline of Thea Gagate, Glaudine Troncoso and Kate Santiago was too much to handle while backline defender Julia Angeles and veteran Jovelyn Gonzaga were also impressive, giving the Angels a huge scare in their battle that had a significant impact in the race to the playoffs.

Prior to the match, the Thunderbelles were on a roll, winning back-to-back games through their airtight defense and composure down the stretch.

“Zus Coffee’s defense was insane — probably one of the best I’ve faced in a long time,” said Van Sickle, who appeared exhausted at the attack zone as the Thunderbelles of topnotch defensive coach Jerry Yee refused to back done, leading to intense battles at the net, especially in the grueling second set.

She added that the scoreline doesn’t reflect the actual story of the match as they had a hard time penetrating the Zus Coffee defense.

“They were relentless at the net,” Van Sickle added.

“But we kept our composure, trusted our system, and found ways to adjust.”

Van Sickle stressed that they came into the match prepared, knowing that Zus Coffee will not go down without putting up a fight.

“Even in practice, it’s like a dogfight,” said Van Sickle, one of the league’s most elite scorers.

“We push each other to the limit every day, and that helps us stay composed in tough situations.”

With the win, the Angels surged ahead of unbeaten Creamline with a 7-1 win-loss record, tightening their grip on a potential top seed in the knockout playoffs. They only have three games left against struggling teams like Capital1, Galeries Tower and Nxled, putting them in a perfect spot to emerge as No. 1.