PVL: Cignal spoils Marina Tushova's record 50-point outing, ousts Capital1 for semis berth

Cignal lost two consecutive sets after winning the first two, but held on to pull off a gritty 25-19, 36-34, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12 victory against Capital1 and advance to the semifinals of 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference on Saturday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.

The HD Spikers did so after spoiling another record-breaking scoring performance from Capital1 import Marina Tushova, who poured in 50 points to shatter the two previous records she set just days ago.

And starring for Cignal was veteran middle blocker Ria Meneses after she churned out 21 points anchored on 13 attacks, one ace, and seven blocks, including a rejection on Tushova that sent the HD Spikers to a 13-10 lead in the decider.

Cignal reinforcement in MJ Perez committed an attack error, but bounced back right away as her push on the ball put the squad at match point, 14-12.

Cignal then further proved why it's one of the leading blocking teams in the league with Jacqueline Acuña denying Tushova from the left wing as the HD Spikers cruised to a hard-fought victory.

Before that, Cignal nearly absorbed a meltdown as early as the second set, which saw them gain the set point seven times amidst a furious comeback from Capital. But thanks to Perez back-to-back hits Cignal took a commanding 2-0 set lead.

Capital1, though, regrouped in the third and fourth sets with Tushova igniting in the penultimate frame to drag Cignal to a fifth set.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News