PVL: ZUS Coffee gets first win at Akari’s expense

ZUS Coffee notched its first victory in the PVL All-Filipino Conference at the expense of Akari, 16-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 15-12, on Thursday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.

After taking the fourth set to force a decider, the two teams went neck-and-neck early in the fifth before ZUS pulled ahead, 8-4. The Chargers, led by Ivy Lacsina, answered with a run to trim the deficit to one. ZUS responded with three straight points, but Lacsina kept Akari in the fight with back-to-back hits.

Kate Santiago then pushed ZUS to a 12-9 advantage as the Thunderbelles held off the Chargers down the stretch to seal the victory.

Chinnie Arroyo paced ZUS with 18 points and 11 digs, while Jovelyn Gonzaga added 14 markers. Riza Nogales chipped in 10 points.

The win spoiled Lacsina’s 24-point effort for Akari, while Fifi Sharma and Chenie Tagaod finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

With the victory, ZUS improved to 1-2, while Akari remained winless through two matches.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News