ZUS Coffee showed no signs of slowing down as it swept Galeries Tower, 25-22, 25-16, 25-16, to stay unbeaten in the PVL Reinforced Conference Tuesday, October 14, night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Anna DeBeer once again led the Thunderbelles with 18 points and five receptions, while setter Cloanne Mondoñedo controlled the tempo with 20 excellent sets. The former St. Benilde standout kept the Highrisers off-balance with quick sets and smart dumps that opened up scoring lanes for their hitters.

Miner steps up at the net

Middle blocker AC Miner stood tall for ZUS Coffee, finishing with 10 points off quick attacks and timely tips to earn Best Player of the Game honors. She also anchored the defense during key rallies, helping the Thunderbelles pull away after a tight opening set.

“We were able to sustain our momentum from the start all the way to the last point,” Miner said. “Even though we were slow to warm up in the first set, we made up for it and I think we closed the match really well.”

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Balanced attack fuels 2-0 start

Fiola Ceballos added seven points while Kate Santiago and Riza Nogales chipped in six apiece. The Thunderbelles outhit Galeries Tower, 44-33, and capitalized on 21 opponent errors while limiting theirs to 13.

Jelena Cvijovic was held to 11 points for Galeries Tower, which also lost setter Julia Coronel to an ankle injury in the third set. The Highrisers fell to 0-2 after their second straight defeat.

ZUS Coffee joins Akari at 2-0 in Pool B and will face powerhouse Creamline on Oct. 23 at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City.