Jaja Santiago dominates in Japan after leading club to a perfect start

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipina volleyball superstar Jaja Santiago is off to a rousing opening campaign in the 2022 Japan Volleyball League after steering the Ageo Medics to a perfect 2-0 start.

After leading Ageo against NEC in a three-set sweeping fashion, Santiago and the rest of the Medics repeated and sent them home twice after another 25-19, 25-23, 25-19 win for the second-straight time on October 30 held at the Todoroki Arena.

Santiago was all over the place and finished their second game with 15 points built from 17 successful attacks and six blocks.

It was a more dominant performance for the PHL national team staple as Santiago tallied nine points and three blocks in their first game against NEC.

Santiago adjusted well during their second encounter and read NEC’s attacks that were generated from their 1-2 quick attack from the right side.

Despite the absence of Serbian import Sara Lozo, the Medics still put up a consistent performance and got 18 big points from outside hitter Yuka Sato.

National team member Momoko Niida also came up big for the Medics after backstopping Santiago and Sato with 12 crucial points.

Meanwhile, for the losing squad, Chinami Furaya led the team with 13 points and five excellent digs while Sarina Koga chipped in 10 points.

Santiago is looking to maintain her all-star performance as they square off against the tough PFU Bluecats team next Saturday.