Army spikers blast Air Force

MANILA, Philippines — Drawing stellar showing from two former league MVPs, the Philippine Army made short work of the Philippine Air Force, 25-23, 25-13, 25-20 Thursday to gain a piece of the lead in the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan.

Michelle Carolino, the 2005 first conference MVP, exploded for 18 points, including 15 kills while, Mary Jean Balse, a two-time MVP winner from the University of Santo Tomas, fired the bulk of her 11 points in the second set as the Army tossers made a fitting sequel to their four-set win against Philippine Navy last Tuesday.

More importantly, the win allowed the Army tossers to join first conference champion Ateneo on top on similar 2-0 cards.

Air Force slipped to 0-2 hole after losing in straight sets against San Sebastian on opening day.

After winning the tightly-fought first set, the Army spikers jumped the gun in the next, taking a 9-3 lead behind the powerful hits of Carolino, her sister Mayeth and Balse.

Air Force’s Cherry Rose Macatangay and Aiza Maizo tried to mount a comeback in the third set, but Army’s assault proved to too much.

The Air Force spikers picked up their game midway into the third when Macatangay and Maizo bombarded Army’s defensive line with consecutive kills to trim down a 17-24 deficit to 20-24.

But Rachel Ann Daquis stepped up with a smashing kill to seal Army’s victory after a little over an hour.

Maizo, the 2009 second conference MVP, finished with 14 points for Air Force while Macatangay, who reigned in 2006, wound up with 10 points.

Kristel Satumbaga, Manila Bulletin