By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Chery Tiggo Crossovers began its Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference campaign on a high note after blanking the Farm Fresh Foxies, 25-13, 27-25, 25-22, on July 16, 2024, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Despite missing the services of top outside hitter Eya Laure and star libero Jen Nierva due to Alas Pilipinas national team duties, the veteran-laden Chery Tiggo squad showed their depth and banked on their balanced effort to fend off the younger Foxies.
Khat Bell, Chery Tiggo’s import for this season’s Reinforced Conference, also didn’t need any warm-ups after spearheading the Crossovers with 23 points built from 22 successful attacks.
Aside from her dominant scoring display in just three sets, Bell also stuffed the stat sheets, doing the intangibles after tallying nine excellent digs and six excellent receptions.
Bell sparked Chery Tiggo’s blitzing opening set performance after going crazy in the spiking department, catching Farm Fresh off guard with her weird but effective attacking angles.
As a result of a relentless first-set outing, the Crossovers quickly dispatched the Foxies with a score of 25-13, but things became interesting in the following frame as Farm Fresh quickly deployed defensive adjustments to slow down Chery Tiggo’s attack.
Every time Bell approached the net for a spike attempt, Farm Fresh put two middle blockers in front of her to prevent any clean looks.
When Farm Fresh’s game plan worked and turned the match into a see-saw affair, the locals, led by Seth Rodriguez and Mary Rhose Dapol, stepped up to the challenge and scored timely spikes to escape the resilient Foxies.
It was the same scenario in the third and final set as Farm Fresh went toe-to-toe with the Crossovers, overcoming a 24-20 deficit to force a tie at 24-all.
However, a costly error from Angelica Legacion rewarded the Crossovers with a freebie point for a one-point lead, 25-24, followed by the game-winning conversion of Bell that wrapped up the game.
Chery Tiggo will look to improve their PVL win-loss record to an undefeated 2-0 if they win in their next game against the revamped NXLED Chameleons on July 20, 2024.
