PVL Foxies back in hunt, feast on error-prone Thunderbelles

Domination marked the close of Week 3 of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference preliminaries as Farm Fresh dismantled an erratic ZUS Coffee side, 25-14, 25-18, 25-18, at the FilOil Playtime Centre in San Juan Saturday.

It was a near-flawless, businesslike performance from the Foxies, who needed just 75 minutes to complete the sweep — mirroring the earlier straight-set victory posted by the Creamline Cool Smashers over the Capital1 Solar Spikers.

Trisha Tubu paced the attack with 16 points, while Jolina dela Cruz added 13 as Farm Fresh controlled the tempo from the opening serve. The Foxies executed with discipline and balance, moving crisply in transition and capitalizing on ZUS Coffee’s repeated breakdowns in reception and attack.

More telling was Farm Fresh’s efficiency. After struggling with inconsistency in early losses to Nxled and Cignal, the Foxies looked far more composed this time. They committed just four errors combined in the first two sets — a stark contrast to the Thunderbelles’ string of unforced miscues — before finishing with just two in the third, by which time the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Farm Fresh conceded just six free points to ZUS Coffee — a figure that could rank among the fewest allowed by any team in league history.

ZUS Coffee, on the other hand, never found rhythm and yielded 18 free points. The Thunderbelles struggled with serve-receive, timing and offensive coordination, allowing Farm Fresh to dictate play with minimal resistance. Unlike tightly contested matches where momentum swings define the narrative, this one was shaped by steady execution on one side and persistent errors on the other.

For dela Cruz, who earned Best Player of the Game honors, the victory was fueled by the team’s determination to climb the standings after a shaky start.

“Our motivation is to improve our standing. We never stopped preparing even after two losses,” said dela Cruz in Filipino. “Coach (Koji Tsuzurababa) never let up in training and really worked on changing our mindset as a team. Our young players have also been complementing the veterans well.”

Her performance reflected that renewed focus, as Farm Fresh continued to show growth and cohesion on the court.

The win came a week after Farm Fresh delivered the tournament’s most lopsided result — a 25-14, 25-15, 25-12 rout of the Galeries Tower Highrisers — signaling that the Foxies may have finally settled into their system. With improved chemistry, sharper floor coverage and a more confident offensive flow, Farm Fresh (2-2) is beginning to resemble a team capable of sustaining control rather than merely flashing potential.

While Galeries Tower managed to rebound from that humbling defeat with a stunning four-set upset of Nxled, ZUS Coffee continued to grapple with inconsistency, limited scoring options and a lack of cohesion — issues that were fully exposed in another one-sided loss for a woeful 1-4 card.

Riza Nogales led ZUS Coffee with 11 points, while Fiola Ceballos chipped in nine. Kate Santiago added eight markers and Rachel Ann Daquis contributed six in her debut, but top hitter Chinnie Arroyo struggled, finishing with just two points in a two-set stint.

The Foxies hardly had to force the issue in the opening frame, as the Thunderbelles unraveled on their own.

ZUS Coffee handed away nine free points on unforced errors in the first set alone — a glaring contrast to Farm Fresh’s disciplined play, with the Foxies committing just one error in the same stretch. While both teams produced 12 attack points apiece, the disparity in miscues proved decisive. Add two service aces from the Foxies, and the set quickly tilted beyond recovery.