Van Sickle heaven-sent for Petro Gazz

MANILA, Philippines -- An angel sent from heaven.

That was how Petro Gazz described the arrival of Filipino-American spiker Brooke Van Sickle as it shoots to return to championship competitive form in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference unfurling February 20 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“An angel sent from heaven has arrived to refuel our journey. We’re thrilled to have you here, Brooke Van Sickle,” it said through its social media accounts Saturday night.

The 24-year-old outside hitter should come in bringing her talent and experience after suiting up with the US NCAA’s Oregon University and Hawaii University where she was the MVP, Best Outside Hitter and Best Scorer in the 2021-22 Big West Conference.

Van Sickle also played pro ball in Cyprus for AEL Limassol.

She was one of the three marquee sign ups for the Angels, who earlier tabbed Myla Pablo from defunct F2 Logistics and Mich Morente from PLDT after losing Grethcel Soltones to Akari.

The troika joined an already talented group that included Djanel Cheng, Jonah Sabete, Aiza Maizo Pontillas, Remy Palma and Nicole Tiamzon as the club seeks to bounce back from a disappointing sixth-place finish last conference.

Interestingly, Van Sickle was the second Fil-foreign player who was recruited in the league after Fil-Canadian Savannah Davison was acquired by PLDT late last year.

Like Davison, Van Sickle should also make a big impression on her debut season.