By NIKOLE JAVIER
An avowed fan of the 6-foot-4Jaja Santiago is also towering at 6-foot-2. And explosive, too.
Alyssa Solomon proved she can be as destructible as her idol who is now a pro in the Japan league as she exploded for a career-high 28 points in leading defending champion National University to a 25-22, 25-19, 25-27, 22-25, 15-10 thriller over Adamson in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday, March 1, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Meantime, the Ateneo-University of the East showdown also ended in five sets with the Blue Eagles pulling off a 25-22, 25-20, 18-25, 22-25, 15-10 win.
Both Ateneo and UE now have similar 1-1 records.
In her deadliest form since her rookie year last season, Solomon single-handedly carried the fight for NU in the third frame where she tallied 11 of her 27 attacks. She also had an ace to highlight her 28-point masterpiece.
The win, however, was the first time in three years that NU was dragged to five exciting sets.
Good thing Solomon got plenty of support from Bella Belen who scattered 23 points to hand Adamson its first defeat in two starts.
Cess Robles and Erin Pangilinan also delivered at crunch time and finished with 13 and 12, respectively.
For a while, the Lady Bulldogs appeared headed to three-set win when they rushed to a 16-10 lead in the third, but the Lady Falcons rallied mightily to the delight of their supporters.
The fourth set was no different that saw the Lady Falcons also pull away midway through the set before the Lady Bulldogs caught up at 20-all.
But Adamson refused to be intimidated, tightening up its defense to frustrate Belen and Solomon in their attacks to force a deciding fifth set.
The fifth set was also tense with NU finally breaking away from a tight 10-9 contest after Belen produced back-to-back crosscourt kills to extend the lead by three.
Fittingly, NU’s Camille Lamina wrapped up the match with an ace.
Kate Santiago paced the Lady Falcons with 20 points, while Trisha Tubu and Loren Toring contributed 16 and 12 points, respectively.
