Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, July 5, 2022 – Korea’s first match in the 21st Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship went to the tie-break as they won 3-2 (25-19, 25-15, 24-26, 24-26, 15-12) against the tough challenge of Thailand in Pool A of the Preliminary Round on Tuesday evening.
The crowd at NU Sports Centre held their breath with both teams’ brilliant display of perseverance and sheer determination.
Kim Sein served as Korea’s chief scorer, delivering a total of 23 points from 18 attacks, 4 service aces and a block. She proved to be consistent throughout the match, scoring in key moments, while also playing effectively in passing and defence.
Thai captain Donphon Sinpho led all scorers in the match, charting a total of 27 points in the loss.
Thailand relied on their outside hitters Donphon and Ampha Sonsurat, as they proved to fearless from the flanks. The Thais also served steadily, which at times saw their opponents with difficulty in reception.
Korea endured with their passing unit, with setter Kim Sarang devising ways to recover and orchestrate the offence. They were patient in recycling their plays as their opponents showed good efforts in counter-attack. Opposite hitter Yang Youkyung contributed with 17 points.
Thailand adjusted to react more quickly on block-defence in order to slow down their opponents’ momentum at the flanks. They also recalled their powerful serves in order to tire the passing unit on the other end of the court. When they could set up their offence, they started to craft more combination plays in order to outsmart the opponent. Their composure at the closing plays of the third set enabled them to extend the match.
The fourth set proved to be a battle of endurance and perseverance, where both teams lagged with their own share or faults in serve and attack. But mostly, it was a battle of mental toughness, as the team with more composure could recover from miscues and eventually overcome the crucial breaks.
Thailand stood their ground when Korea seized match point. Donphon soared from the flanks to force the tie-break.
The decider looked and felt much like the fourth set, where each team was struggling to forge ahead. Thailand’s Donphon still delivered the heroics for her team. Korean middles Lee Jisoo and Kim Sebeen scored in the closing plays to finally complete the victory in the fifth set.
Korea will face hosts Kazakhstan on Wednesday, July 6 in the main event scheduled at 17:30. Thailand will resume play in Thursday, July 7, likewise against the host team in the 17:30 match. All times local.
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