Despite her 38-point outburst to lead the Akari Chargers to victory, Oly Okaro remains as hungry as ever to lead her squad to new heights in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference.
Oly Okaro was simply unstoppable for the Akari Chargers.
The American outside hitter willed Akari to victory after pulling off a reverse sweep against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, 18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-13, in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Tuesday, July 23.
Okaro matched Tots Carlos' season-high of 38 points and ranked fifth overall in the league with her 33 attacks, three aces, and two blocks.
Despite going down two sets, Okaro continued to fight for the Chargers, which paid off as her squad remained undefeated in the conference.
“My mindset was I was still in destroy mode, because I was just thinking even if we lost the first two sets, it didn’t mean anything to me. I just really wanted to win. I just wanted to do everything that we could to win,” Okaro said during the post-game press conference.
The victory marked the first time that Akari started a PVL conference with a 2-0 record.
That’s why Okaro had nothing but praise for her teammates who showed their fighting spirit throughout the match.
“I would say that this Akari team has very strong and passionate fighting attitude. Even though we’re down, collectively, we come together. We know that we don’t want to lose this game, at least not go down without a fight,” said Okaro.
“We know our team can get a little bit goofy, sometimes with a lot of dancing. Deep down, I would say the team is very cohesive and has the same goal in mind. And I guess that we’re not leaving without a fight,” she added.
But even after her dominant performance, Okaro is still eager to outdo her performance in the upcoming games.
“I would say it’s nice. Fifth in the league [but] I probably could do better, so I’ll keep working to get better, said Okaro.
The 6-foot-1 spiker is also ready to improve on her errors in the match. Akari, as a team, committed 40 errors against Choco Mucho during the match that lasted 2 hours and 24 minutes.
“I know there’s also things that I didn’t do very well, and that’s something I’m gonna work on more. I just came ready to fight. I knew that there’s no way I’m leaving without fighting, as well as the rest of the team,” she explained.
Okaro and the rest of the Chargers will look to continue their perfect run as they face the Petro Gazz Angels on Saturday, July 27, at 3:00 p.m. at the PhilSports Arena.