Male, Maldives, September 8, 2024 – The final day of the pool preliminaries of the CAVA Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup ended in dramatic fashion as Kyrgyzstan handed hosts Maldives their first loss, breaking their winning streak in front of the home crowd.
The highly-anticipated match saw in-form Kyrgyzstan prevail over spirited Maldives in a tight contest 31-29, 25-16, 25-23, with Roza Rasulbekkyzy leading the charge with 14 points from 11 kills, two blocks and one ace. Maajidha Aishath chipped in 12 points including 9 kills from 33 attempts on the Maldives’ loss.
With great balance in blocks, Kyrgyzstan had the edge by 7 to 3 and also dominated in kills (42 to 31) and aces (11 to 6), but hosts Maldives benefitted from more opponent error with a 28-21 advantage.
Earlier in the day, Tajikistan proved a cut above Afghanistan in a convincing 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 31-29) victory.
Muborakshoeva delivered 12 points from 10 kills and 2 aces for Tajikistan, while Mohammadi Roghayeh scored a match-high 20 points, all in attack, on the Afghanistan’s loss.
The Afghan team, composed mainly of refugees residing in Iran, are making its debut in the tournament thanks to the support provided by the Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA).
CAVA President Mohammed Latheef, himself AVC Executive Vice President and AVC Zonal Executive Vice President representing Central Zone, expressed his commitment to fostering unity within the volleyball community.
“We need to keep our zone active as one family. Afghanistan will never be neglected, and discovering talents from the country is a priority for me,” Latheef emphasized.
After three days of the single round-robin competition, Kyrgyzstan finished on top of the four-day standing with 9 points from three straight wins without losing a set to their respective opponents. Hosts Maldives came in second place overall with 6 points from two wins against one loss. Tajikistan and Afghanistan finished third and fourth places, with the former claiming 3 points from one win against two losses and the latter bagging no point from three losses in a row.
With the pool preliminaries coming to a conclusion, teams will rest on September 9 before heading into the semifinals on September 10. Kyrgyzstan will face fourth place Afghanistan, while second place and hosts Maldives will go up against third place Tajikistan. The winners of the semifinals will face off in the final showdown, while the two losers will fight it out for bronze medal.
MATCH RESULTS AND POOL RANKING
MATCH SCHEDULE
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