By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Cignal continued its winning ways and swept Nxled, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23, to remain unbeaten in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Minglanilla Sports Complex in Cebu on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Vanie Gandler and Ces Molina fired 13 and 10 points, respectively, including combined 19 hits to anchor the HD Spikers anew and extend their winning run to four games to reclaim the solo lead.
Cignal, though, had to dig deep in repulsing Nxled, needing a little over two hours as it banked on its strong attacks and solid defense.
The Chameleons outspiked them, 42-41, but they managed with more blocks — seven including three from Gandler — against Nxled’s two.
A 25-minute power outage disrupted the match, but it didn’t hinder Cignal’s concentration to claim the win.
“It’s a team effort, and we survived the distractions that happened,” said Gandler. “I’m really proud of my team.”
While celebrating the win that extended their unbeaten run, Gandler emphasized the need for improvement, particularly in communication.
“There are times we make errors consistently, so we’re just going to keep working from hereon,” she said.
Chiara Permentilla remained the bright light for Nxled with 18 points, even as Lucille Almonte and Lycha Ebon had 11 and 10 points, but it was still not enough to end its losing slump as they plummeted to 0-5.
In the other game, Galeries Tower downed Capital1, 26-24, 25-14, 25-23, to finally seize its first victory after four defeats.
Jewel Encarnacion led the Highrisers with 11 points while Ysa Jimenez and Andrea Marzan chipped in 10 points apiece.
The Solar Spikers fell to 1-4 despite Leila Cruz and Jorelle Singh combining for 24 points.
