Akari outlasts Farm Fresh to charge into PVL quarters

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March 4, 2025 | 7:41pm

MANILA, Philippines — Akari overcame some early struggles as it escaped with an 25-11, 23-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-9 victory over Farm Fresh Tuesday to barge into the quarterfinals of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena.

Ivy Lacsina went on spiking spree with 21 kills and finished with a match-high 22 points as she powered the Chargers straight to the best-of-three quarters unfurling March 15 at the same Pasig venue.

The 25-year-old spiker later disclosed the win made up for the all the undisclosed things they’ve been through.

“Maybe, we’ve gone through in the past few days, I just released my emotion today,” said a teary-eyed Lacsina in Filipino.

Grethcel Soltones, sidelined for so long due to a right hand strain, made the most out of her minimal minutes and came through when her team needed it most in the deciding set.

There, the battle-tested Soltones came through with some clutch hits and key defensive stops while serving as a calming presence for her younger teammates.

“My mindset is to deliver when its crucial and also to keep reminding my teammates to stay calm when they started to get rattled,” she said after chipping in 11 points in just a little over two sets on the floor.

Akari thus joined Galeries Tower, Creamline, Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho in the quarters.

It was a heartbreaking result for the Foxies, who appeared headed to essaying a mammoth upset after seizing a 2-1 set lead and momentum.

It wasn’t meant to be tough for Farm Fresh as it couldn’t find the killer instinct and failed to fend off the late Akari juggernaut.

Farm Fresh was relegated to the play-in phase where it still has a chance to snare one of the last two slots to the playoff round.