Cignal import takes lights out of Meralco

Games Tuesday (Cuneta Astrodome)

4:15 p.m. – Petron vs RC Cola-Air Force

6:15 p.m. – Philips Gold vs Meralco

MANILA, Philippines - Cignal drew another monster performance from import Ariel Usher to pull off a masterful 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 conquest of Meralco and tighten its grip on the leadership of the 2015 Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament yesterday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

A blonde, charming spiker from Oregon, Usher was dominant from start to finish in leading the HD Spikers to their third victory in this prestigious inter-club tourney presented by Asics and backed by Milo with Mikasa, Senoh and Mueller as technical partners and TV5 as official broadcaster.

Usher delivered 22 kills and two blocks to finish with a game-high 24 points, a fitting followup to her 30-point explosion in their previous victory over Philips Gold last week.

And making her performance even more impressive, she did it before a large weekend crowd that included her parents – Sandra and Carl – who flew in from United States to support her first overseas assignment.

“We work hard in practice and we did everything as a team,” said Usher, who has been averaging a whopping 28 points in Cignal’s first three games.

“Having my parents here is awesome. They came in yesterday to provide support to me. I mean, it’s really awesome. I feels really nice to have a good game with my parents around.”

With the win, the HD Spikers solidified its hold of the leadership with 3-0. Reigning champion Petron, for its part, can also improve to 3-1 depending on the outcome of its game against Philips Gold at press time.

Cignal coach Sammy Acaylar marveled at the impressive performance of his wards.