PERFECT SERVING

Anna DeBeer’s firepower was again on full display as ZUS Coffee outlasted Akari in a marathon come-from-behind, 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-12, 15-7, victory for a five-game sweep of Pool B in the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Denied a chance to showcase what she could bring to the table in the nullified season-opening match between the two protagonists, the American reinforcement scattered a game-high 33 points in the replay that also went the full distance.

“Definitely, it was hard sitting out the first one so, just being able to play and have such a cool environment here was really fun,” DeBeer said.

The prolific scorer watched from the sidelines when the Thunderbelles came back from a 1-2 match deficit to beat the Chargers, 24-26, 25-23, 17-25, 26-24, 15-7, in a forced all-Filipino clash last 7 October at the Ynares Center-Montalban due to issues with the international transfer certificates (ITC) of all PVL imports.

The league, along with all member clubs, decided to replay the games following the issuance of the ITCs.

ZUS Coffee advanced into the carryover second round along with defending champion Creamline and Akari to play Pool A’s lower three teams Nxled, Cignal and the loser in the replay between Capital1 and Choco Mucho, still being played as of press time.

DeBeer took advantage of the second chance and delivered 32 of her points from kills on a 32-of-76 spiking clip, tallied 12 excellent receptions while providing stability in ZUS Coffee’s two-hour, 10-minute comeback win.

The Thunderbelles struggled in the first two sets but found their rhythm in the next two frames to force a decider.

Riding the momentum of their fourth set demolition, ZUS Coffee raced to an 8-1 advantage in the fifth frame following a Ced Domingo error.

Akari tried to get back into the game and make it more interesting with a mini-run to get within five, 10-5. The Thunderbelles kept their distance, 13-7, before Chinnie Arroyo hammered a crosscourt hit from the right corner, before Jovelyn Gonzaga smashed her version from the same spot to finish off the Chargers.

ZUS Coffee head coach Jerry Yee downplayed the franchise’s amazing run as the job is still far from over.

“It’s just a 5-0 start. We just adjusted to what our rivals gave us. So, just lucky we’re able to make the right adjustments and take this win,” he said.

Gonzaga had a triple-double of 11 markers, 13 digs and 13 excellent receptions, Rizza Nogales had 11 markers while Arroyo added 10 points off the bench for the Thunderbelles. Cloanne Mondonedo tallied 27 excellent sets.

The Chargers wrapped the round with a 3-2 slate tied with the Cool Smashers and Petro Gazz. Akari took the No. 3 spot via higher match point earned compared to the Angels, 9-3.

Annie Mitchem paced Akari with 27 points and 14 excellent receptions.

Eli Soyud added 15 markers while Domingo and Grethcel Soltones posted 11 points each in a wasted effort.