By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Cignal came out firing, rolling past Galeries Tower in straight sets, 25-17, 25-14, 25-11, to kick off its Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference campaign on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan City.
The Super Spikers displayed sharper and more fluid play — a result from their preseason training camp in Japan — dictating the pace throughout the 72-minute match.
Tin Tiamzon torched the service area by firing six aces before finishing with 18 points, while Vanie Gandler took charge of their offense by drilling in 12 kills for 14 points.
Erika Santos was equally effective, pumping in 11 attacks and two blocks to finish with 13 points.
Tiamzon said the victory was an encouraging first step toward better things after the team pushed through adversity in what they viewed as a rebuilding season last year.
“Itong panalo, parang fruition na siya ng hard work namin and we really can’t wait to show what we got as a team lalo na sa pinagdaanan namin last year,” said Tiamzon, referring to their ninth-place finish in last year’s conference.
“As a fairly new team, parang new composition, rebuilding stage yung last year and hopefully this year, mas ma-cement pa namin yung chemistry namin,” she added.
The Super Spikers exposed the Highrisers weak plays, dominating on all departments particularly in attacks, 46-24.
Cignal was also solid in blocking by managing eight compared to Galeries Towers’ two, while acing eight serves.
The Highrisers, who are parading with 14 new players, struggled as all but Erika Deloria scored in double figures with 10 points. Veteran Aiza Pontillas could only make five, while Erika Raagas had three as coach Clarence Esteban tried to shuffle his players to find the right combination.
