JAJA Santiago delivered the clutch hits as Saitama survived a late scare from Denso, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 16-14, in the Japan V.League on Sunday at the Saitama Prefectural Budokan.
Santiago simply refused to let Saitama suffer another five-set collapse, saving the day after Denso moved on brink of completing a come-from-behind win when Yuki Denso put her team at match point, 14-12.
Jaja is clutch
The 6-foot-5 middle blocker stopped the bleeding with a running attack and scored back-to-back blocks to steal the match point advantage, 15-14.
After Santiago’s three consecutive clutch points, Brazilian import Lorenne Teixeira delivered the game-winning spike to complete Ageo Medics’ comeback from a lethargic 6-11 start in the decider.
Saitama improved to 11-7 in the sixth place, moving closer to fifth placer Denso, which dropped to 13-7.
Denso led by as much as 13-9 in the fifth but three consecutive errors allowed Saitama to trim it to just one, 13-12, before Santiago’s heroics.
The National University standout stood tall with 24 points, scattering 16 attacks, seven blocks and an ace to help her team bounce back from a five-set loss to Hitachi on Saturday.
Teixeira delivered 28 points built on 25 spikes and three blocks. Yuka Sato contributed 12 markers, while Mami Uchiseto and Kyoko Aoyagi added 10 each.
Hyodo and Minami Nakamoto led the Airybees with 17 points each. Rei Kudo had 13 markers, while Mami Yokota and Nanami Asano added 10 apiece.
Santiago and Co. will host the No.3 NEC Red Rockets (13-5) on Wednesday.
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