Filipino-American Brooke Van Sickle cherished the moment of finally experiencing what it was like to play in the Philippines.
The Petro Gazz recruit felt giddy as she made her local debut in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League last Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
“There were butterflies (in my stomach) going on before the game. My teammates are super supportive and you know I feel like we’re doing very well, we’re getting chemistry as a team together, slowly and slowly and yeah it was a good day for us,” Van Sickle said.
The outside spiker, who hooked up with the Angels barely two weeks ago, made a good first impression after banging in 16 points in Petro Gazz’s 25-11, 25-19, 25-19, opening-day victory over Philippine Army.
Signing with the Angels was a dream come true for the 24-year-old spiker.
In fact, she was the one who contacted Petro Gazz to play here after hearing about how big the sport, especially the Premier Volleyball League, is in the Philippines.
Curious about the amazing experience her friend former F2 Logistics winger Kalei Mau and ex-Petro Gazz import Linsey Vander Weide had playing in front of rabid Filipino fans, Van Sickle wanted to get a piece of the action.
“Kalei Mau, I met her probably three years ago and I have friends that played here in the PVL and they only just said fantastic things and like it’s just a different experience like that experience they’ve never had in volleyball. That’s where the dream began and maybe three months ago,” Van Sickle, who played in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 for University of Hawaii, said.
The Big West Most Valuable Player, Best Scorer and Best Outside Spiker talked to Vander Weide, who helped the Angels rule the 2022 Reinforced Conference, about her interest in playing for the club.
“I was actually teammates with Lindsay Vander Weide so I ended up hitting her up like, ‘Hey can I have contact information for Petro?’ She said ‘Yeah OK’ and that’s how it started,” she said.
Van Sickle liked what she saw even though the PNVF tourney only served as a primer for the PVL wars erupting on 20 February.
“It’s legit. This is super cool, super fun. I’m stoked to be able to be a part of this. Absolutely, grateful. I’m excited to see how the season goes,” she said.
Van Sickle also mentioned that she felt right at home with Petro Gazz, feeling the warm welcome from veterans Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Remy Palma, Djanel Cheng and returning Myla Pablo.
“It’s going really good. I got here like two weeks ago. Like the first day I was not even here for 48 hours but I already felt like I was at home. The girls are so welcoming and I can’t be more grateful, I’m super happy,” she said.
