American import Meegan Hart made her presence felt in leading Nxled to a marathon 25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 25-27, 15-12, victory over Galeries Tower to open the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference on a high note Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Hart, a late replacement for Chinese reinforcement Xuanyao Jiang, displayed her defensive prowess with seven blocks and added 12 kills including the game-winning middle hit that sealed the two-hour, 55-minute Pool A encounter.
“It was great, we got a win so it’s always great but I’m feeling really welcomed in the Philippines. So far, the experience has been awesome. I’m really excited to be here with the team and win a lot of games,” the 6-foot-2 middle blocker said.
Hart, who saw action in Cyprus where she played against All-Filipino Conference Most Valuable Player Brooke Van Sickle of Petro Gazz, only had a day to train with the team after the Chameleons opted to field her instead of Jiang.
Nxled used a crucial 4-1 run to break a 9-9 tie in the fifth set for a 13-10 advantage capped by a Hart kill block.
The Highrisers, who also changed their foreign guest player a day before the start of mid-season tournament, cut the Chameleons’ lead to 13-12 before Chiara Permentilla hammered an attack to send Nxled at match point followed by Hart’s finishing blow.
May Luna came off the bench and poured 17 markers while Permentilla added 17 markers including five of Nxled’s 18 kill blocks.
Lycha Ebon and Jaila Atienza scored nine points each for the Chameleons.
Galeries Tower showed grit in the fourth set, showing nerves of steel in the extended frame.
France Ronquillo plucked all her team-high 17 points off kills while Thai import Sutadta Chuewulim added 14 makers and eight receptions less than 24 hours after arriving in Manila to replace Brazilian import Monique Helena.
Middles Rosselle Baliton and Andrea Marzan had 12 points each and combined for six of the Highrisers’ 10 kill blocks.
Rookie Jewel Encarnacion, the 15th overall pick in the Draft, debuted with five points for Galeries Tower.
Both teams struggled in taking care of the ball with Nxled committing 26 errors and Galeries Tower throwing away 32 points off miscues.