Eya Laure and Alas Pilipinas during its match against New Zealand in the AVC Nations Cup. –AVC PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas kept its semifinal hopes alive after bouncing back with a 25-17, 25-21, 25-18 win over New Zealand in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup on Wednesday at Dong Anh Arena in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Eya Laure led Alas Pilipinas’ charge, nailing the game-winning single block to vent their ire on the Kiwis after a tough 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15 loss to Iran two days ago.
Laure delivered 12 points off eight kills, three aces, and a block. Gandler also scored 12 off nine spikes, two aces, and a block
Alyssa Solomon also returned to action with 11 points after spraining her left ankle last Sunday against Indonesia, rejoining captain Jia De Guzman, who orchestrated the team’s offense.
Alas Pilipinas ahead of its match against New Zealand in the AVC Nations Cup. –AVC PHOTO
Cla Loresco also made her first start for Alas Pilipinas finishing with five points, conspiring with Dell Palomata and Fifi Sharma in the frontline, finishing with six and five points, respectively.
“The mindset is always to win. We never came here to only play. We’re gonna learn but the best of this game is you can learn winning, that’s better. For tomorrow the mindset is [to] win, win, and win, and play good,” said Alas coach Jorge Souza De Brito.
Alas needed to break a 20-all tie in the second set with Laure and Palomata closing the frame for a 2-0 advantage.
READ: Alas Pilipinas feels the love away from home at AVC Nations Cup
The Filipino Spikers also recovered from a lethargic start in the third, trailing 11-13, before scoring six straight points for a 17-13 spread and never looked back to improve to a 3-1 record tied with Iran.
Angel Canino and Shaina Nitura rested in the match, while Bella Belen saw limited action
Alas needs to beat last year’s runner-up Kazakhstan, which holds a 4-0 record, to return to the Nations Cup semifinals.
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Charlton Vail and Petra Manderson led New Zealand with 11 and nine points, respectively, only for their squad to bomb out of contention with a 1-3 record.
