Emilio Aguinaldo College pulled off probably the biggest upset after stunning top-seeded University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, 25-18, 19-25, 27-25, 25-22, in the NCAA Season 101 women's volleyball quarterfinals on Sunday at the San Andres Sports Complex.
The Lady Generals, who were winless through the preliminaries but swept LPU in the play-in round to advance to the playoffs, dragged the twice-to-beat Lady ALTAs to a do-or-die QF match on Wednesday with a semifinals ticket at stake.
With their season on the line, EAC came out firing from start to finish thanks to the lethal tandem of Angel Joy Perez and Ashley Toriado.
Lefty outside spiker Perez dazzled with 24 points and six receptions while rookie middle blocker Toriado erupted for 16 points, highlighted by 10 huge blocks that exceeded Perpetual's team record of eight blocks.
Tied at one set apiece, EAC crawled back from an early deficit in Set 3 with Alex Razonable forcing a 24-all deadlock before Geraldine Palacio gave Perpetual the match point with a block on Razonable.
However, a Jemalyn Menor attack error and back-to-back points from the Lady Generals allowed EAC to snatch the set.
The Lady ALTAs seized a crucial 18-17 cushion in Set 4 after Palacio fired two consecutive aces, but the Lady Generals answered with a 5-1 blast capped by a Toriado quick kill.
Cara Dayanan then buried two pivotal attacks that gifted EAC the match point at 24-21, but Perpetual turned to Palacio anew to pull within two. But Camille Bustamante came up short in her service off a timeout, paving the way for the huge victory for the Lady Generals.
EAC also received significant help from Razonable and Dayanan, who poured in 14 and 10 points each with the former also collecting 12 digs.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
