San Sebastian bounced back from a two-set meltdown as it survived a gritty San Beda side, 25-21, 23-25, 30-32, 25-23, 15-13, Tuesday in NCAA women’s volleyball at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Kristine Dionisio delivered the goods in the pivotal stretch as the Lady Stags clinched their fifth victory in seven games.
The win not only cemented San Sebastian’s hold of the third spot but also boosted its chances to the Final Four.
Tied at 12-all, Dionisio scored a quick kill to give the Lady Stags the lead before San Beda’s Patricia Manalac closed the gap for 13-all.
But Dionisio was not yet done as she returned with another booming spike and an easy over set that had San Beda scrambling to give the victory to San Sebastian.
While it was Dionisio who stepped up in the crunch, it was Katherine Santos who carried the fight throughout for the Lady Stags by pumping in 24 points on 22 attacks and two aces.
Christina Marasigan also provided ample support with 13 points off 10 kills, while Dionisio and Reyann Canete chipped in 11 and 10 points.
San Beda had the chance to close out the match in their favor in the fourth set after leading 22-20, but San Sebastian put up a 5-1 run off the hands of Santos to extend the match.
The Lady Red Spikers fell to their fifth defeat in seven matches, putting their slim Final Four chance in peril as they tied with University of Perpetual Help and Emilio Aguinaldo College near the bottom standings.
Marianne Tayag scored 15 points while Maxinne Tayag and Trisha Paras added 14 points each for San Beda, but the Lady Red Spikers lost their bearings when it mattered most.