Facing another much taller squad, the Philippine Women’s National Volleyball team dragged Kazakhstan right to the edge before succumbing in five sets, 15-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19, 16-14, in the Asian Games classification round in Jakarta, Indonesia.
After a dismal start, the Philippines got their bearings in the second set. Thanks to solid execution stemming from setter Jia Morado, the Pinays overcame late serve errors and leaned on the towering Jaja Santiago for a tight second set win.
The third set started disastrously for the Philippines, giving up three aces in a run that pushed Kazakhstan to an 6-1 lead. The Philippines tried to come back, as their foes opted to slot in bench players towards the end of the set, but fell short as their offense sputtered.
The Philippines took their turn dominating via serving in the fourth set. Opposite hitter Mylene Paat threw the late punches including an ace that gave the Philippines an insurmountable 23-15 lead and forced a decider.
With the Kazakhs struggling on receive, the Philippines opened the final set on a 7-2 tear. Kazakhstan responded, bringing the lead down to one, 7-6, before a Maika Ortiz quick play triggered a change court. Kazakhstan completely erased the Philippines’ lead after a string of quick plays pushed them ahead, 11-10. The match went all the way to a deuce thanks to heady play from Jaja Santiago, Mylene Paat, and Alyssa Valdez. But Kazahkastan’s height was too much up in the end, as they ended the match off a running play and a block.
Six-foot-five Santiago continued to lead the Philippines in scoring, dishing out 19 points off 17 attacks and two aces. Mylene Paat hopped off the bench and added 14 markers, while Alyssa Valdez managed 13.
The Philippines matched the Kazakhstan in every scoring skill except blocking, in which the Kazakhs finished with an 18-5 edge.
The Philippines plays host Indonesia again for seventh place.
The Scores
Philippines (2) – Santiago 19, Paat 14, Valdez 13, Ortiz 9, Morado 5, Baron 4, Manabat 2, Fajardo 1, Reyes 1, Cruz 0, Dy 0, Maraño 0, Lazaro (L), Macandili (L)
Kazakhstan (3) – Petrenko 18, Anarkulova 15, Safronova 13, Zhadanova 9, Berseneva 7, Akilova 5, Belova 5, Karapetan 5, Tatko 4, Batkuldina 0, Fendrikova (L)
