Birthday girl Dy shines as PLDT ruins Nexled perfect record
Kianna Dy celebrated her 30th birthday with a straight-sets win and a ticket to the Premier Volleyball League on Tour quarterfinals—with her family traveling from Manila to watch her from the sidelines.
PLDT dismantled previously unbeaten Nxled, 25-11, 25-17, 25-21, on Saturday at University of San Jose-Recoletos Coliseum in Cebu City, with Dy coming out firing in the battle of unbeaten squads.
“It’s a very happy birthday for me,” Dy said in Filipino. “One of my wishes was to get a win today, and I’m really glad I got to celebrate with the people I love—my teammates and my family.”
The fit-again opposite hitter tallied nine points and helped anchor PLDT’s net defense, teaming up with rising outside spiker Kiesha Bedonia and longtime teammate Majoy Baron, who scored eight of her 13 points in the second set.
Dy also had three of PLDT’s 13 kill blocks, helping the High Speed Hitters remain the lone unbeaten squad in the preseason with a 4-0 record in Pool A. They joined Pool B leader Cignal (4-1) in the quarterfinals.
She also thanked the Cebuano crowd for their warm support.
“We’re so grateful for the energy from the fans. It’s so fun playing in front of such an energetic crowd,” she said.
Bedonia led all scorers with 15 points on 10 kills, three blocks and two aces. Savi Davison, returning after a break, scored on her first two touches late in the third set to widen the lead to 22-15.
Nxled trimmed the gap to 23-19 on PLDT errors, but Bedonia sealed the win with back-to-back points, putting PLDT one step within sweeping Pool A with a match against Galeries Tower on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Teamwork, Dy said, has been the key to their strong run.
“You can really see how we play as a team. We’ll keep working on consistency and improving communication,” she said.
PLDT coach Rald Ricafort praised his team for neutralizing the vastly improved Chameleons, especially after a disrupted week of training due to floods in Manila.
“We talked about how every team presents a different challenge,” Ricafort said in Filipino. “Today, we faced an unbeaten squad with momentum, but everyone contributed and we got to rotate players. Hopefully, we keep this going.”
“It’s not just about the record, but about building that winning feeling. That’s the experience we want to grow.”
Nxled dropped to 3-1 and will try to clinch the last outright quarterfinal slot in Pool A against the Farm Fresh Foxies on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
EJ Cariño was the lone bright spot for Nxled with 11 points off the bench, while Lyann De Guzman chipped in nine.
