Reporting note: this article draws on gmanetwork.com; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
Akari vs PLDT finally went the Chargers' way. Akari swept PLDT, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22, in the 2026 PVL Open Conference Siklab Series on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena, snapping a two-game skid to open the conference.
It's the Chargers' first win in three outings. They'd already dropped matches to Creamline and Capital1, so this one wasn't just about the standings — it was about stopping the bleeding before the hole got any deeper.
Akari vs PLDT Nearly Turns Into a Third-Set Collapse
Here's where it got interesting. Akari bolted to a 15-8 lead in the third set, helped along by back-to-back PLDT attack errors, then pushed it to 16-9 after another attack infraction from Jessa Ordiales.
Baby Jyne Soreño and Soltones combined to stretch the cushion to 19-12. Comfortable, right? Not even close. PLDT answered with an 8-2 run behind Kim Kianna Dy and suddenly the lead was down to one at 21-20.
Mika Reyes kept the High Speed Hitters alive with a quick kill that trimmed it to 23-22. But Savi Davison misfired on an attack to hand Akari match point, and Fifi Sharma finished the job with a quick hammer.
Two PLDT errors in the closing stretch decided it. That's the whole margin. Volleyball is brutal like that — you claw back from seven down and then gift-wrap the last two points.
Soyud Sets the Tone, Sharma Puts It Away
Eli Soyud led the sweep with 12 points. Sharma poured in seven, and none of them mattered more than the game-winning kill.
Soreño, Faith Nisperos and Ivy Lacsina all chipped in six points apiece. That's the kind of spread that makes a team annoying to defend — you can't load up on one hitter and call it a night.
Akari also won the first two sets by seven and six points respectively, so the sweep wasn't a fluke of one wild finish. The Chargers controlled the bulk of the match and survived the one stretch where they didn't.
PLDT Slips to 0-2 and the Numbers Are Ugly
The High Speed Hitters are 0-2, and the box score explains a lot. Ordiales was the only PLDT player in double figures with 10 points. Davison, limited to two sets of action, managed just five.
When your leading scorer sits on 10 and the next threat is on five, the comeback math gets ugly fast. PLDT found that out in the third set, where the errors arrived at the worst possible moment.
For Akari, 1-2 looks a whole lot better than 0-3. The Chargers get to breathe, and they get to do it with a balanced attack that just proved it can close a tight set.
Neither team's next assignment was detailed in the original report, so keep an eye on the conference schedule for both. PLDT needs a fix on offense; Akari needs to prove the third-set wobble was a one-off.
The original report on this match appeared on gmanetwork.com.
