Cignal sweeps Creamline, stays unbeaten

Cignal’s mental toughness was in full display in staving off Creamline in a scary extended third set to complete a 25-22, 25-18, 28-26, sweep and remain unbeaten in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) on Tour Tuesday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Erika Santos sustained her fine form to once again lead the HD Spikers’ charge while Ishie Lalongisip delivered the finishing blows for their third straight victory in Pool B.

Santos hammered 14 kills with two kill blocks and aces to finish with a game-high 18 points as Cignal snapped an eight-game losing skid to the Cool Smashers spanning three years.

“Super happy. Of course, we didn’t expect to win in straight sets. The good thing is I’m just proud of the team, both coaches and players, and even the management for the support. Happy to see the team execute what we prepared for,” HD Spikers head coach Shaq Delos Santos said.

The HD Spikers came back from five points down early in the third and even took a 22-17 lead after unleashing a 12-4 barrage.

Cignal, however, flirted with disaster after allowing Creamline to counter with a huge uprising to get back in the game, including saving three match points to tie it at 24.

The Cool Smashers saved two more match points before Lalongisip took matters into her own hands with back-to-back precision attacks to finish the match in one hour and 51 minutes.

Lalongisip scored 13 of her 15 points on hits spiked with 10 excellent receptions and seven digs for the HD Spikers. Roselyn Doria-Aquino added 10 while setter Gel Cayuna tallied 22 excellent sets with five markers.

Creamline saw its two-game winning streak snapped.

Michele Gumabao was the lone Cool Smasher in double figures with 11 points. Alyssa Valdez had nine markers while Jema Galanza added eight points.

Michelle Gamit made her debut for Creamline and posted three points in two sets of action.