ZUS barges into PVL playoffs for first time

MANILA, Philippines — ZUS Coffee completed a surprise sweep in Pool A of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference play-in round and reached the playoffs for the first time after beating Capital1, 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 25-17, on Thursday, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.The Thunderbelles, who scored a 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12 win over the Cignal HD Spikers on Tuesday, went firing on all cylinders in the first two sets against the Solar Spikers.

Capital1, however, showed resistance in the fourth set but Zus recovered its bearing the fourth frame to secure the win and a spot in the next round.After finishing 12th in the All-Filipino and Reinforced Conferences last year, ZUS made its best run in the league so far by making the playoffs."We got the game, so I'm very happy, and I'm thankful for the players who gave their all. We still need a lot to work on, but for now we are happy," head coach Jerry Yee said after the game.Cloanne Mondoñedo led the Thunderbelles with 20 excellent sets, along with six points. Glaudine Troncoso scored 15 points while middle-blocker Gagate made 13 points for ZUS.

Capital 1 was led by Julia Ipac who finished with 17 points and Leila Cruz who chipped in 13 points.ZUS will face No. 2 seed Petro Gazz in the best-of-three quarterfinals.