Jennifer Omapas and Jaja Villena showed up when it mattered most as Emilio Aguinaldo College escaped San Beda University, 25-23, 24-26, 25-19, 18-25, 15-12, to finally break through in the NCAA Season 98 women's volleyball tournament on Friday.
With the tandem leading the way, EAC copped its first win to improve to 1-3 while San Beda remained winless at 0-4.
Third year open spiker Omapas got going in the fifth set, going for a strong kill to give the Lady Generals a slim 8-7 lead before VIllena powered a 5-0 run in the next sequence.
The veteran middle blocker notched three of those five points, highlighted by two quick hammers, as EAC built a 14-8 cushion and moved one point away from the victory.
San Beda then rallied with Kat Molina drilling back-to-back points to bring the Mendiola crew to a 12-14 deficit. But a service error from setter Pat Cenzon killed the momentum for San Beda, giving EAC the free point to complete the five-set win.
Omapas and Villena both registered 12 points but it was Cath Almazan who started it out for EAC as the seasoned open spiker scattered 24 markers alongside 16 digs and 19 receptions to finish with a triple-double outing.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
