SARINA Koga unloaded 21 points as NEC beat Jaja Santiago and Saitama, 25-23, 25-17, 30-28, in the Japan V.League on Wednesday at the Saitama Prefectural Budokan.
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Koga put on the finishing touches in the third set as NEC fought back from a 21-24 deficit to deny the late rally of Ageo Medics and end the match in one hour and 29 minutes.
Koga drilled 19 spikes and a pair of blocks to finish with game-high 21 points. Haruyo Shimamura also delivered the clutch hits and had 14 points to keep the Red Rockets in the third place with an improved 14-5 record.
Santiago, who came off a 24-point explosion last Sunday’s five-set win over Denso, was limited to nine points after she was held to 6-of-17 in spiking and had three blocks.
Kyoko Aoyagi showed the way for Saitama with 10 points, while Brazilian Lorenne Teixeira was also held to nine markers.
Ageo Medics dropped to 11-8 still in the sixth seed after losing two of their three home matches since coming back from a one-month hiatus due to the team’s Covid-19 outbreak.
Santiago and Co. will face the No.2 Toray (15-4) on Saturday in their fourth straight home game at 12 pm (Philippine time).
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