Chargers lean on playoff poise, sweep Foxies to advance

The PVL Reinforced Conference quarterfinals delivered every bit of drama expected of a win-or-go-home showdown. But amid the fireworks, the shocker, and the sudden collapse of a top contender, one story stood tallest — the poise and experience of an Akari squad that simply refused to act like an eighth seed.

The Chargers stunned top-ranked Farm Fresh Foxies in straight sets, 28-26, 30-28, 25-21, at the Araneta Coliseum on Monday, barging into the semifinals of the import-laced year-ending conference.

That the victory came in emphatic fashion left many scratching their heads, including Farm Fresh coach Alessandro Lodi, whose meticulous system was outmaneuvered by Tina Salak’s calm, methodical, and time-tested approach.

“Lahat ’to team effort,” said Salak, who admitted the moment felt surreal but not unexpected. “Everything — from technical to small information to feedbacks — lahat ’to galing sa training namin… Nag all-out kami and we made sure na hindi ’yun ang last training for Akari.”

And it wasn’t. Not with the way Akari played.

Annie Mitchem, once overlooked in the two-phase preliminaries, unleashed perhaps her best match of the conference with a 25-point explosion built on relentless attacking and 14 excellent receptions. She sealed the match with a kill so sharp and powerful that Ces Molina could only lunge in desperation before the ball ricocheted deep into the Foxies’ bench.

This time, Mitchem wasn’t alone. Eli Soyud continued her steady run with 10 points, while Grethcel Soltones rediscovered her rhythm, also delivering 10 markers along with leadership that steadied Akari in the tightest moments. Fifi Sharma and Ced Domingo added nine and seven, respectively, dominating the middle with timely hits and airtight floor and net coverage.

Setter Mars Alba orchestrated Akari’s quick and unpredictable offense with 19 excellent sets, consistently feeding Domingo and Sharma in crucial stretches that swung momentum in the Chargers’ favor.

In contrast, Farm Fresh struggled to connect, with Eli Rousseaux’s 25 points standing as the lone bright spot for a team that found little support from its local crew.

The Chargers out-hit the Foxies 56–48, out-blocked them 7–2, and minimized the impact of their 23 unforced errors by playing disciplined, structured volleyball when it mattered most.

Anchoring the defense was Justine Jazareno, who tallied 21 excellent digs to earn Best Player of the Game honors. “We just played the system that we have been training,” she said, thanking Salak and her teammates for the trust they have given her as the team’s defensive anchor.

While stats tell a large part of the story, Akari’s experience under pressure told the rest.

This is a team that reached the finals of this same conference last year — a team that has lived through elimination games, five-set wars, and the suffocating pressure of lights brighter than any prelims match. That lineage showed in the composure they carried across all three sets — no panic in tight endings, no breakdowns in long rallies, no hesitation when the Foxies attempted to claw back.

Salak’s core players — Soltones, Domingo, Soyud, Sharma, Jazareno, Alba — have years of big-game mileage across college, club, and national-level play. Even the usually understated Mitchem played with the confidence of someone who has tasted international pressure before.

Farm Fresh, on the other hand, was experiencing its first real playoff moment as a young franchise. The Foxies’ inexperience showed — miscommunication in the tightest moments, hesitation in long rallies, and visible shakiness each time sets reached the 20s.

Akari, by contrast, simply looked like a team that had been here before — because the Chargers have.

Their semifinal berth underscores the truth of playoff volleyball — rankings fade, stats flatten, but experience sharpens. And on this day, it separated a team ready for the moment from a team still learning how to navigate it.

Akari now awaits the winner of the Creamline–Petro Gazz match at presstime, setting up another win-or-go-home clash on Thursday.

The opening frame immediately signaled the kind of prolonged war expected in a knockout duel. Both the Chargers and the Foxies were dragged into a pressure-soaked finish — one that stretched not only the first set but also the second, each turning into extended battles of nerves and execution.

But in both instances, it was Akari’s experience and composure that proved decisive. Where the Foxies faltered in execution — so sharp and fluid during the prelims — the Chargers steadied, regrouped, and struck with the calm of a team that had survived these moments before.

The third set appeared headed for another tense finish as Farm Fresh pushed Akari into a tight 19–20 exchange on a Soltones service error. But the Chargers responded with a devastating three-point burst, ignited by an explosive Mitchem hit fresh off the bench.

The short rally that followed only compounded the Foxies’ frustrations, highlighted by a costly Rousseaux back-row mishit that handed Akari a crucial point.

Domingo then sent a serve slicing into the heart of the Foxies’ formation — just out of reach of Rousseaux — for a stunning ace that pushed Akari closer to the finish line.

Trisha Tubu briefly halted the slide with a strong kill, but Sharma immediately countered with a quick hit, placing the Chargers at match point.

Alba’s service error gave Farm Fresh a momentary breath, but Mitchem slammed the door shut with a no-doubt, echoing blast — a fitting final word to a match defined by Akari’s poise, maturity, and ability to thrive when the stakes rose highest.