Sisi Rondina’s decisive hit from the left side of the net secured Alas Pilipinas a thrilling 22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 victory over Australia in their opening game of the 2024 Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup for Women at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The Filipinas’ rousing win prevented Australia from joining India at the top of Pool A. The match was witnessed by an enthusiastic crowd of 4,945 spectators.
“Yes. Everybody did their thing and helped. They gave the best that they have,” said Alas Pilipinas coach Jorge Souza de Brito.
Alas Pilipinas overcame a tough first set in which the Australian Volleyroos capitalized on a pair of errors towards the end to take the lead.
The Volleyroos entered the contest with confidence after defeating Chinese Taipei in four sets, 23-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-18, on Wednesday.
However, the Volleyroos couldn’t maintain their momentum against the Filipinas, who took the next three sets convincingly. This win allowed the Philippines to join India at 1-0 in Pool A.
India now leads Pool A after Soorya Soorya’s standout performance in their 25-19, 25-13, 25-16 victory over Chinese Taipei on Thursday, keeping them unbeaten in two matches.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong bounced back from an opening day loss by defeating Indonesia 25-22, 26-24, 25-18, leveling their record to 1-1 in Pool B.
In the second set against Australia, a combination of attacks from Thea Gagate, Eya Laure, and Vanessa Gandler broke a 14-all deadlock, pushing the Filipinas to a 19-14 lead.
The third set saw Rondina teaming up with Angel Canino to break a 7-all tie, sending the Filipinas ahead 10-7. They extended their lead to 17-10 with strong defensive plays from Fifi Sharma and Laure.
“The veterans led the young ones, and Angel delivered very well,” added de Brito. Laure then scored three out of four attacks to lead the Filipinas to a 10-4 edge in the final set.
Canino powered the Filipinas with 17 points, including 15 from attacks, while Rondina and Laure added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Kara Hislop led the Volleyroos with 12 points.
