Brooke Van Sickle’s Monster All-Around Performance Earns Unanimous PVL Weekly Honor

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Brooke Van Sickle has played only two games since returning from a shoulder injury, and the Premier Volleyball League’s press corps needed no more convincing. The Nxled star was a unanimous pick as Player of the Week for Oct. 10 to 17.

A former PVL Season MVP, Van Sickle missed the PVL On Tour and the Invitational Conference. The Chameleons still reached the Invitational Conference finals without her, and she wasted no time showing what they had been missing.

Brooke Van Sickle earned unanimous PVL Player of the Week honors for Oct. 10 to 17 after helping Nxled open the Siklab Series with two wins. [PVL Images]

Van Sickle Powers Nxled to 2-0 Start in Siklab Series

Van Sickle scored 11 points with eight excellent digs in just two sets as Nxled swept PLDT, 25-16, 25-20, 25-18, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Smart Araneta Coliseum. She showed little rust after the layoff.

She stepped it up against Farm Fresh on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Playtime FilOil Centre in San Juan. Van Sickle poured in 20 points on 14 attacks and six kill blocks while adding 16 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions as Nxled held off a reverse-sweep bid.

Nxled won, 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 15-12, and is unbeaten through two games in the Siklab Series. Van Sickle was named Player of the Game.

Van Sickle is happy to be back on the floor. “Yeah, it’s really good to be back. I mean, no athlete likes to be injured, right? So, during the time, I mean, it was really tough at moments,” she said.

“But I had the support of my coaching staff and our teammates, too, and management and ownership,” she added. Her return gives Nxled its main scorer back.

Tougher PVL Field Awaits Nxled After Weekly Honor

Van Sickle edged a field that included teammate Gel Cayuna, Creamline’s Jema Galanza and Jia De Guzman, and Capital1’s Bella Belen. The award is voted on by print and online reporters who cover the league.

Van Sickle sees a tougher league. “I think as PVL continues with its years, I do think that the competition is getting significantly harder. Teams, I mean, now there are only nine,” she said.

“So I think teams are more condensed and they have better players, more talent, especially with the draft coming in,” she added. The Sports Vision-organized league is celebrating its 10th year.

She expects the Siklab Series to stay unpredictable. “A lot of teams have their rosters built. So I think it’s gonna definitely be very hard and very unpredictable. As we’ve already seen, there’s already been a lot of five-setters,” she said.

“So, as I said, it’s gonna be a dogfight for everybody and be very unpredictable, in my opinion,” Van Sickle said. Nxled looks to build on its Invitational Conference finals run.

Nxled faces winless Galeries Tower on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 1 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. A win would extend the Chameleons’ unbeaten start to three games.