Lindsey Vander Weide becomes the first two-time champion import in the PVL.
Lindsey Vander Weide’s second PVL Reinforced Conference title with the Petro Gazz Angels was just as sweet as her first.
By helping the Angels secure their third Reinforced Conference championship, Vander Weide became the first-ever import to win two PVL championships, once again doing it with the same team she led to a title three years ago.
“I mean, it’s awesome! I said at the beginning that let’s run it back; I wouldn’t say that I was half-joking, but you never know what’s gonna happen,” Vander Weide said after Petro Gazz’s 21-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-20 victory over the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles in the championship match.
However, Petro Gazz’s path to the title was far from smooth sailing, as it took them some time to jell as one cohesive unit. This was evident in their 3-3 start to the season, which included losses to the up-and-coming ZUS Coffee and the Farm Fresh Foxies to start the final round of preliminaries.
The Angels ultimately clicked when the stakes were at their highest, which culminated in Sunday’s title victory over the Thunderbelles.
“And just the fact that we had a weird start and a weird middle of the season, only for us to pull it out against top teams in the end just shows how much grit this team has. I mean, I knew that we had it all along. It just came out at the end, so it was awesome to be with this team,” Vander Weide reflected.
That Petro Gazz retained much of their core from 2022 made this second title much sweeter for the American import, who also got the chance to play with her college teammate Brooke Van Sickle.
“Yeah, of course twice is a little nicer for sure. Just the fact that I got to do it with Petro Gazz again is awesome, and just [playing] with so many of the same girls is awesome. This team has so much grit and it really just shows itself as the best,” she said.
Should the circumstances permit, Vander Weide would love to shoot for a third PVL title with the Angels by next year.
“I mean, who knows? If I’m coming back, I’d love to do it with this team, I definitely would be interested in another Reinforced Conference. Why not a three-peat you know?”
Now a two-time PVL champion and one-time Best Import, Lindsey Vander Weide didn’t just make history — she’s set a high bar for what it means to be a winning reinforcement in the PVL.
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.