Jiangmen, China, July 3, 2024 – Chinese Taipei downed New Zealand in straight sets 25-15, 25-15, 26-24 in Pool D to join unbeaten Korea in the round of last 8 in the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium here on Wednesday.
Hsu Fang-Min scored a match-high 18 points from 15 kills, 2 blocks and one ace for Chinese Taipei, while Chang Yi-Chi and Lin Liang-Tai added 9 and 7 points respectively. No New Zealand’s player reached double digits, with Kalea Norton scoring 7 points including 4 kills from 7 attempts on the team’s loss.
Both teams had already lost in straight sets to Korea and faced a must-win situation in this match to qualify for the round of last 8. Chinese Taipei made a solid start, with hard-attacking Hsu Fang-Min leading the team’s offense in the first set to take an early 11-6 lead.
The Kiwis fought back hard, with Charlie Vail and Grace Tiplady producing some good shots. However, the rivals were defending well to foil their fightback attempts. Chinese Taipei went on their flawless performance, with Chang Yi-Chi and Hsu Fang-Min countering with powerful attacks and Lin Liang-Tai and Chang Yi-Chi producing efficient blocks. After that, Chinese Taipei remained strong offensively to gain some crucial points, taking advantage when the opponents came up with mistakes. With Hsu Fang-Min carrying out terrific jump serves and firing exceptional attacks, Chinese Taipei took the comfortable first set 25-15.
The Kiwis faced the similar difficult situation in the second set as they still had no answer to the rivals’ combination attacks and excellent teamwork. After taking the lead with a seven-point clear at 15-8, Chinese Taipei stormed on, with Hsu Fang-Min navigating past the taller Kiwis’ blocks to advance to 22-10. As the Kiwis tried hard to regain their form while going all out, things still turned sour for them as Chinese Taipei held firm to take the set with the similar margin 25-15 for a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Kiwis pulled their game together and came back much better in the third set, which they led 5-1. Chinese Taipei improved on offense and struck back, but the rhythm was still with Kiwis as they extended the lead to 11-5. However, as the Kiwis became more prone with unforced mistakes, Hsu Fang-Min and Lin Liang-Tai gave Chinese Taipei a strong comeback.
They punctured the Kiwis’ defence apart with their exceptional attacks to help the team catch the Kiwis at 16-16, 19-19 and moved ahead 22-20. The determined Kiwis did not give up and had a breath of fresh air at the near end set as they caught Chinese Taipei at 23-23 and reached the set point 24-23. Unfortunately, they let the win slip through their fingers. Chinese Taipei bounced back to win three points in a row for the set 26-24 and match.
“We did well in the first two set, but we lost our focus in the third set which caused us difficulty in playing New Zealand. In our first match against Korea, I think my players are still young and they lack competition experience and that’s why my girls did not play well in that match. However, with more games to play, my team will gain more confidence and will play better. We next have to play Japan. They are good in defence and reception, so we will have to rely more on attacks. Others said that our chance to beat Japan is 40-60, but I’m quite certain my team will go all out and make it 50-50,” Chinese Taipei head coach Chen Yu-An commented after the match.
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