Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, January 8, 2020 – Kazakhstan and Korea continued their winning streak to enter the semifinals by sweeping Indonesia and Iran respectively while Chinese Taipei fought hard to grab a crucial win over Australia in 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-14) on the second match day of 2020 AVC Women’s Tokyo Volleyball Qualification here at Chatchai Hall.
With only three teams in Pool A, Chinese Taipei in fact have finished their pool round-robin preliminaries with one win and one loss record. The crucial win today keeps their semifinal hope alive and the match between Australia and Thailand, which will take place on Thursday evening, will finally decide which two teams advancing to the semifinals from Pool A.
In Pool B, unbeaten Kazakhstan and Korea are due to take on each other Thursday to decide the first place of Pool B, while winless Indonesia and Iran will compete for their maiden win in their last preliminary match.
In the first mach of the day, Hangestri Pertiwi Megawati scored a match-high 21 points but failed to bring a win to Indonesia while the attacking trio of Anarkulova Sana, Anikonova Kristina and Drobyshevskaya Olga jointly contributed 40 points for Kazakhstan’s tough 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-18) victory.
Facing taller Kazakhs, Indonesia played their quickness and diversity from the beginning. They once led for a while in the first and second set, but Kazakhs’ advantages in blocking and service reversed the situation.
“It was a little stressful as a game. We didn’t have a good start in the first set and then we woke up, came back to our tactics and started to attack. I want to give credit to Indonesia for playing well. They tried their best but fortunately we won the match. Tomorrow we will also have a very tough match as we have to play against Korea. We know they are a good team with good tactics, but we will try our best and fight until the last ball.” said Kazakhstan captain Alessya Safronova.
“It is going to be a very difficult match against Korea tomorrow. They are a good team and it won’t be easy to beat them. We still have three more games. Tomorrow we will have to give our best and try to win the match in order to top the pool and have a chance to play the second ranked team of another pool in the semifinals. I believe my team will try their best tomorrow.” said Kazakhstan head coach Burhan Saik Canbolat.
“I think we played better than in yesterday’s match against Korea. We played more relaxed and enjoyed the game. Our combination in attacking and blocking defence worked out well today. We are very happy to play here in Thailand and I hope we will gain good experience and improve our game more and more.” said Indonesia captain Tri Retno Mutiara Lutfi.
In the second encounter, Kang Sohwi bagged a match-high 15 points including incredible 9 aces to help Korea clinch a comfortable 3-0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-19) victory over Iran.
“Of course we are happy to win the match, but I expect more in the team’s quality especially in blocking. We have yet to show the best we can do. We made some changes as we need to try some defence solutions. We have to improve day by day and concentrate match by match. Of course it will be tough tomorrow against Kazakhstan as they have good quality in blocking and attacking. We have to adapt to their style. We will do our best to win.” said Korea head coach Stefano Lavarini.
“Actually it was a good match. Iran did a good job today. But our next game will be even more difficult against Kazakhstan. They are a good team with good defence. But I believe in my team. We will take it step by step and will try our best to win.” said Korea captain Kim Yeon Koung.
“We learned a lot from today’s match against Korea. They are very strong. My team is still very young and have a lot to learn. I hope that they will improve in the future.” said Iran head coach Mitra Shabanian.
In the last match of the day, Chinese Taipei, following a 0-3 loss to Thailand on the opening day, fought hard to grab a crucial win over Australia in 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-14).
Captain Chang Li-Wen tallied a match-high 14 points for Chinese Taipei followed by Chen Tzu Ya, Tseng Wan -Ling and Chang Li Yun with 12, 11, 11 each, while Stojanovic Monique only pocketed team-high 7 points for Australia.
Unwilling to go home early, both sides were under pressure at the beginning, committing several errors. The score accumulated alternatively until 11-11 tie before Chinese Taipei found their rhythm back in fast attacking. Australia had to call a timeout at 11-14 behind but their attempt to chase up was crushed as Chen Tzu Ya was on fire, leading Chinese Taipei to maintain the advantage. Following a attacking mistake by Australia, Chinese Taipei sealed the first set in 25-20.
Australia tried to blow back but they were stirred by the fast tempo of Chinese Taipei. Armed with multiple-positioned attacks by Captain Chang Li-Wen,
Chen Tzu Ya, Tseng Wan -Ling and Chang Li Yun, Chinese Taipei smoothly closed the rest two set in 25-18 and 25-14.
This game was really a big game for us as we knew we had a good chance. But in volleyball the most important skill is attack. We looked at the attack statistics and our opponents had 50 per cent kills and ours was 31 per cent, and that made the difference. Tomorrow will be another tough match for us. Thailand are a very good team. We have played them a few times over the last three years at different tournaments. We know their style of playing. They play a fast game with excellent combination plays and their attacks are very good, but we are ready for that.” said Australia head coach Martin Collins.
“It was a good game but it was also difficult for us as Australia are a tall team. My team is still young so we still have a lot to improve. We have had one victory and one loss against Thailand so far. I am quite satisfied with our performance.” said Chinese Taipei head coach Koji Tsuzurabara.
“At the beginning of the game we still used the same blocking system as in the previous match and we really had a hard time to cope with Australia’s attacks. Since we got used to their playing style, we started to play better. I am very happy for my team victory today.” said Chinese Taipei captain Chang Li-Wen.
The 2020 AVC Women’s Tokyo Volleyball Qualification will have its last round of pool round-robin preliminaries Thursday to determine the ranking in each pool. Only top two teams from each pool will advance to the crosswise semi-finals, which will be held on Saturday after a rest day. The final showdown will be held Sunday on January 12th to decide who will get the Daruma and the only ticket to Tokyo.
Nakhon Ratchasima is commonly known as Korat, a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat of the Nakhon Ratchasima Province and Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima District. Name after former Prime Minister of Thailand, Chatichai Choonhavan, the 5,000-seated Chatchai Hall was built for the Southeast Asian Games in 2007 and also once held the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in 2018 as the home court for Thailand Women’s Team.
Competition Schedule & Result:
January 7, 2020
Iran vs Kazakhstan 0-3 (14-25, 16-25, 14-25)
Korea vs Indonesia 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-9)
Chinese Taipei vs Thailand 0-3 (16-25, 21-25, 16-25)
January 8, 2020
Indonesia vs Kazakhstan 0-3 (22-25, 23-25, 18-25)
Korea vs Iran 3-0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-19)
18:00 Australia vs Chinese Taipei 0-3 (20-25, 18-25, 14-25)
January 9, 2020
13:00 Iran vs Indonesia
15:30 Kazakhstan vs Korea
18:00 Thailand vs Australia
January 10, 2020
Rest day
January 11, 2020
15:30 Semifinal 1
18:00 Semifinal 2
January 12, 2020
15:30 Finals 3-4
18:00 Finals 1-2
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