Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, June 24, 2023 – Australia picked up a 3-1 win (25-21, 17, 25, 28-26, 25-19) over Uzbekistan in the 5th-8th semi-finals of the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Women on Saturday at the Tri Dharma Petrokimia Gresik Gymnasium.
The Australians enjoyed their second victory in their run in the competition and will now aim for their best finish in the 5th-6th final on Sunday.
Emma Burton, Tara Inskip and Caitlin Whincup led the charge as they tallied double-digits scores in the victory.
The winning team posted impressive coverage on their block defense, converting with a total of 14 points from deflections. But they also found some difficulty against the opponents who fared well in the match.
Australia head coach Russell Borgeaud said, “We struggled with some of their good serves and they had some good attackers who were moving very effectively. In those moments, we struggled in organizing our defense. The combination of those things made it difficult, because they played really quite well.”
Borgeaud referenced Boymirzayeva Dilnoza and Sativoldiyeva Ezozakhon, the powerhouse duo who boosted Uzbekistan’s performance, scoring 22 points and 19 points respectively. Dilnoza alone unleashed a total of 6 service winners (out of the team total of 9) which really affected their opponents’ passing lanes,
Uzbekistan tried to push forth, extending the third set, but they failed to close out to their favor.
Meanwhile, Australia tried to revert to their specific game plan in order to seize the momentum in the fourth set.
“It was mostly about playing our game, our strategies particular to this match. We wanted to focus to block on certain areas of the court and make sure we have good tip-cover. We also wanted to run a quite quicker attacks,” Borgeaud continued.
Teams now await their respective match-ups on Sunday, with Australia playing for the 5th-6th final at 14:00, while Uzbekistan will play for the 7th-8th final in an earlier match at 11:30. All times local.
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