Cyrille Almeniana turned it up in the endgame to lift the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA to a 25-19, 25-20, 15-25, 22-25, 17-15 win over San Beda University in NCAA Season 101 women's volleyball on Sunday.
Almeniana delivered timely hits as the Lady ALTAs made a pivotal role switch in Set 5 to stretch their winning streak to three games and improve to 8-1 in Group A while the Lady Red Spikers dropped to 7-2 in Group B.
Almeniana, originally slotted as an opposite hitter but deployed as an outside spiker late in the game, finished with 18 points while Jemalyn Menor dazzled with 18 markers, nine digs, and seven receptions in the grueling two-hour, 27-minute match.
Perpetual also got a solid outing from middle blocker Charisse Enrico while libero Joanna Lozano shone with a double-double effort of 20 digs and 22 receptions.
Perpetual took advantage of an error-prone San Beda side in the early part of the game to seize a commanding 2-0 lead, but the Lady Red Spikers came alive in the next two sets behind spark plug Kat Molina and usual suspect Angel Habacon.
However, back-to-back attack faults from Molina allowed Perpetual to take an early 3-1 cushion in the final frame. Janelle Bachar then fueled a quick 3-0 run that saw the Mendiola crew capturing a slim 4-3 lead.
The Lady ALTAs retaliated with a 6-1 rampage of their own, fueled by clutch attacks from Almeniana, whose swipe attack gave Perpetual a 9-5 lead. San Beda staged another fightback with Chynna Castillo forcing an 11-all deadlock off her ace.
Almeniana then just took over. The third-year ace converted back-to-back kills to clinch their second match point at 15-14, but she misfired on her next attack, resulting in another deuce.
She atoned for that mishap after soaring for an emphatic kill from the left wing before Angel Habacon's attack error sealed it for the Las Piñas crew.
Bachar topped San Beda with an explosive 31-point outing while Habacon posted 17 markers, 10 digs, and 17 receptions.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
