Manila, Philippines, May 23, 3034 – India defeated Chinese Taipei in straight sets 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-16) to take their second win in Pool A of the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women.
Soorya scored a match-high 15 points, delivering 8 monster blocks and 7 attacks. Anusree Kambrath Poyilil also contributed double-digit markers, with 13 points for Thursday afternoon’s victory at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Head Coach Jai Narain recalled India’s performance in the previous edition, and now looks to achieve more.
“In 2023 in Indonesia, we finished in fourth place. Now, we want to reach the podium with gold, silver or bronze. We want to win a medal this time,” he said.
India, looking poised and prepared, established their tempo early on. They activated their middle attacks with Soorya, while enabling Anusree at the flanks. They have shown much control of their tempo, with setter Jini Kovat Shaji in charge of calling the plays. The rest of the squad would be equally ready to contribute on attack, which says much about the quality of their volleyball.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei needed to find a solution against the tall frontline of their opponents. They showed they could do well in the passing lanes, but in attack, they needed to vary their angle, speed or approach in order to outsmart the blockers. With these attempts, they would tend to miscalculate, hence, suffer from errors. They tried to serve more aggressively, unleashing several service winners, but they needed a more comprehensive strategy to get back into the game.
Instead, India capitalized on the momentum that they have built in the match. For sure, they were not playing error-free, but they possessed the mindset to quickly recover and redeem themselves, to gain a straight-sets victory.
India will face hosts Philippines on Friday in the main event scheduled at 19:00, while Chinese Taipei will play against Iran in the first match set at 10:00. All times local.
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