Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, June 29, 2022 – Determined Malaysia overcame a strong challenge from Singapore to pull off dominant straight-set 25-23, 25-21, 25-19 win in their last match of the “21st Princess Cup” 3rd AVC Women’s Challenge Cup to finish third in the single round-robin tournament at Nakhon Pathom Sports Centre Gymnasium here on Wednesday.
Both sides made a strong start in the first set, but Malaysia, spearheaded by powerful hitter Low Mei Cing, who stands 184cm tall, proved their class as they took an early 13-10 lead. With Low Mei Cing and hard-attacking, pint-sized 160cm-tall Siah Irene Qi Min, puncturing the Singaporean defence with their powerful blows, Malaysia stretched it to 19-17 before Lau Yue Ting Rachel and Quek Soo Teng gave Singapore a strong comeback to meet the rivals at 20-20 and again 22-22.
Playing well under pressure, Malaysia regained their composure and bounced back aggressively to win two points in a row for the team’s commanding 24-22 lead. Singapore scored one crucial point before Low Mei Cing attacked spectacularly from the back row and it went without returning to help lift the Malaysia’s hard-fought first set 25-23.
In the second set, Malaysia still lived up to expectation as they played every element much better than Singapore, which had yet won a single match in the six-day tournament. Malaysia, fifth place at the recent 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, got off to a flying start to lead 4-1 and continued their good run to advance 18-12.
Singapore tightened their defence and at the same time, counter-attacked with sharp cross-court spikes from Chua Jolyn Xin Yi and deceptive drop shots to reduce the margin 20-22. However, the Malaysians proved that their comeback 3-2 victory against Uzbekistan, which later outplayed Singapore in straight sets, was no fluke. They kept the Singaporeans at bay with their improved tactics and teamwork to win the set 25-21.
Malaysia took command in the third set to lead from start to finish. As Malaysia remained in good form to lead with an 8-point clear at 19-11, Singapore tried hard to stage a fightback, but their intention was short-lived as the Malaysians stole the show shortly after that. Low Mei Cing attacked powerfully to help the team win the set 25-19 and match.
Low Mei Cing scored a match-high 20 points from 16 attacks and 4 blocks, while Lau Yue Ting Rachel led Singapore with 10 points.
After completion of four matches, Malaysia had 5 points from 2 wins against 2 losses to overtake Uzbekistan to the third spot of the 3rd AVC Women’s Challenge Cup. Uzbekistan finished fourth place with 4 points from one win against 3 losses, while winless Singapore came in fifth position with no point awarded.
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