Tianjin, China, May 3, 2019 – Altay VC of Kazakhstan survived a sturdy challenge from 4.25 Sport Club to beat the DPR Korea side in a hard-fought five-set thriller 25-22, 15-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-12 in exhausting 125 minutes at the second quarter-final match of the 2019 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Wuqing Sports Center on Friday.
4.25’s super star Jong Jin Sim bagged an incredible match-high 47 points from 44 attacks and 3 aces, followed by Kim Hyon Ju with impressive 22, but their attempts were not sufficient for the team’s win.
The firepower was allocated evenly on the winning side, as captain Sana Anarkulova, Matea Ikic, Olga Drobyshevskaya and Kristina Anikonova contributed 15, 17, 18 and 14 points respectively.
Red-hot Jong Jin Sim activated her scoring mode from the beginning, leading 4.25 to an 8-5 edge at the first technical timeout. Altay organised several bouts of counterattacking but could not pull back the Koreans until 15-19. Thereafter, Matea Ikic unleashed a sequence of spikes for Altay, while Jong Jin Sim was made good company by Olga Drobyshevskaya and Kristina Anikonova. The Kazakhs raised a scoring wave of 8-0 to change the scoreboard to 23-19. Though 4.25 saved two set points in a row, Sana Anarkulova extinguished their hope with a mighty spike to finish the set 25-22.
Learning the lesson from the first set failure, 4.25 allocated more chances for Kim Hyon Ju to attack, and she did not disappoint her teammates as she successfully distracted the defensing focus of Altay with a set-high 9 points. Following a smart dip by Ju Un Hyang, 4.25 smoothly took back the second set 25-15.
Similar with the second set, DPR Korea’s 4.25 confused the opponent with their fast and changing attacks. With the covering fire by Kim Hyon Ju, Jong Jin Sim enjoyed slashing the ball to the other side one after another, even if the ball was at an uncomfortable position sometimes, and facilitated 4.25 another set win 25-19.
Altay also changed their attacking style in the fourth set, featuring more dips. Unable to getting used to this change in time, 4.25 were pushed back in the middle of the set from 8-8 tie to 11-18 behind. Again, Jong Jin Sim stood out to carry the “machine gun” to hit back. Under her leadership, 4.25 reignited the hope of winning the set instead of holding to the decider. Kim Hyon Ju joined forces with team-mates to contribute two powerful spikes in a row to retake the narrow 22-21 lead. But the Altay’s height advantage played a key role at the final crucial time as 4.25 committed mistakes in front of the tall blocking and they finally missed the set in a tight battle 25-27.
In the decider, Altay maintained their smart play, seeing Kristina Anikonova’s consecutive two dips bring Altay to a 7-4 lead. After both teams changed sides, two main attackers Jong Jin Sim and Kim Hyon Ju were blocked by Altay sequentially. The stubborn Koreans struggled to save 3 match points but their effort did not pay its dividends as Altay’s captain Sana Anarkulova concluded the set 15-12 and the intense match 3-2 with a sharp spike.
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