Alas Pilipinas fueled its semifinals bid with an emphatic, 25-17, 25-21, 25-18, victory over New Zealand in a mighty bounce back in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup Wednesday at the Dong Anh District Center for Culture, Information and Sports in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Pushed to a must-win situation after a sorry five-set loss to Iran last Monday, the Filipinas played with a sense of urgency in pounding the also-ran Kiwis to submission for a 3-1 win-loss record tied with the Iranians in Pool B.

Veteran wingers Vanie Gandler and Eya Laure led Alas’ relentless assault as they delivered 12 points apiece in a quick work of New Zealand. The duo accounted for 17 of Alas’ 36 kills and half of the team’s 10 service winners.  

The crucial win gave Alas a three-point earned match points advantage over the Iranians, giving the Filipinas a slight edge in case of a tie in the final day of eliminations.

Alas will try to sustain its momentum against unbeaten Kazakhstan today at 11 a.m. (Manila time) to secure a spot in the knockout crossover semifinal.

The Kazakhs beat the Iranians, 25-14, 25-18, 22-25, 26-24, in the earlier match.

Alyssa Solomon added 11 markers while Dell Palomata scored six for Alas, who dominated the first two sets before battling a tough resistance put up by New Zealand in the third frame.

The Kiwis kept the third set close and even took a 13-12 lead before Alas unleashed a 5-0 rally to get in front, 17-13.

Alas opened a 21-16 gap, but New Zealand made a last-ditch push to move within three. The Kiwis, however, shot themselves on the foot with a costly service error that Alas exploited for a closing 4-0 run capped by a Laure kill block.

New Zealand dropped to 1-3 card.