Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, April 25, 2023 – Fired-up Altay VC, powered by prolific Sana Anarkulova, survived a scare from Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force, the team they had beaten in straight sets in the first round last year, to stun the Thai side with comeback 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-14, 15-11) victory on the opening day of the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium here on Tuesday.
Sana scored a match high 27 points from 24 attacks and 3 kill blocks for Altay, while Wipawee Srithong led Diamond Food with 23 points including 22 attacks.
Altay VC were strong with the likes of promising outside hitter and captain Sana, who landed the MVP Award and the Best Outside Spiker in the 2021 and 2022 editions respectively. Two Serbians, setter Andela Veselinovic and Sara Sakradzija, and opposite Tatyana Nikitina also proved to be strong players to be reckoned with in the Kazakh side, which captured their unprecedented Asian Club title in 2021.
Diamond Food, former consecutive two-time Thailand League winners and bronze medallists at the last year’s Asian Women’s Club Championship in Kazakhstan, also fielded a strong lineup led by former world-class player and highly-skilled setter Nootsara Tomkom. Also strengthening the Thai side were powerful hitter Sasipaporn Janthawisut, middle blocker Tichakorn Boonlert, two of them joined the Thailand national team at the VNL the previous year, opposite Wipawee Srithong, another middle blocker Kaewkalaya Kamulthala and the 193cm-tall Serbian Natasa Cikiriz.
Altay opened up the opening set with three straight points, with Tatyana firing a sharp attack and Sana successfully blocking Sasipaporn’s powerful spike. After that, the game was very competitive, with neither side able to leave their opponents with more than two points. However, Sasipaporn and Natasa combined well for their attacking spree to help the Thai side to even it at 12-12. Their excellent defensive game also worked out pretty well and Dimond Food gradually broke away with a two-point advantage to lead 19-17.
Diamond Food’s solid blocks, exceptional attacks by Natasa, Wipawee and Sasipaporn helped the team stretch their lead to 24-21. Middle blocker Valeriya Chumak saved one set point for Altay with her lightning fast spike before Wipawee came from behind to devastatingly attack the opponents for the hard-fought 25-22 win in the first set.
Going down one set, Altay tried hard to make a comeback in the second set. Their more determination almost bore fruits when they led from the beginning 3-1 before Diamond Food turned the tables on the them. Sasipaporn and Natasa penetrated the Kazakh defence with their powerful attacks, while Tichakorn and Nootsara assisted with their stuff blocks. The Thai team leveled it at 5-5 and went on their awesome form, letting loose their fierce attacks and impressive defence to widen the margin to 20-18. After a series of consecutive points, Diamond Food delivered the set point 24-19 and an unforced receiving mistake from Altay cost them dear as the Thai side took the set 25-19.
With their backs against walls, Altay were playing with nothing to lose. Outside hitter Svetlana Parukova and middle blocker Irina Malkova were sent in for the team’s rescue and the powerful duo proved a great asset for Altay. The Kazakh side upped their tempo and took command from the beginning to lead 5-3 before stretching it to 10-4. Diamond Food fought back hard in this thrilling set to narrow the margin at 9-14 and 13-17, forcing Altay to ask for timeout to improve their game plan.
Diamond Food clawed their way back and remained hot on the rivals’ heels as Sasipaporn and Wipawee punctured the Kazakh defence with their aggressive attacks to come closer at 21-23. Unfortunately, Natasa’s serve went to the net, delivering the set point to Altay. Still, the Thai side did not want to surrender easily. Wipawee fired a powerful attack to save the day for Diamond Food, but outside hitter Sara dashed out the Thai hopes with her thundering spike for the 25-22 win Altay’s way.
Their confidence boosted after winning the third set, Altay remained in fine form in the fourth set, bouncing back from trailing 4-7 to level it at 9-9 and moved on in top gear. As their unforced errors started trickling in, Diamond Food fought on, but the rivals still had enough in their tank. Altay mixed the offensive combinations from Sana Sakradzija’s aggression and Svetlana’s power to extend it to 20-13. As the Thai nerves began to fray, Altay stormed on, allowing the determined Thais only one more point to win the set 25-14, forcing the tie-breaker to decide the eventual winners.
In the decider, Sana became the backbone of Altay as she unleashed a barrage of spectacular attacks to put her team in front 5-1. Diamond Food counter-attacked well, with Sasipaporn overcoming the taller blockers with her powerful spikes to assist the Thai team to narrow the margin 9-12. However, the Thais’ sweet dreams to avenge the first-round loss to Altay at the last year’s edition in Kazakhstan turned into a nightmare when the Kazakh giants put it all out to win the thrilling set 15-11 and the hotly-contested match.
“It’s very difficult match but the victory is with us today. This is sport and anything can happen. We lost the first two sets, but we came back to win it finally. After we lost two sets, we improved on our defence. I’m happy with the win, but we have to play our best one at a time,” Russian Yury Panchenko, head coach of Altay VC, commented after the match.
Diamond Food’s head coach Kittikun Sri-Utthawong was also pleased with his team’s performance despite the stunning 2-3 loss.
“We played well in the first two sets, but the last three sets, Altay improved on their receiving, while our defence did not work out well, allowing the Kazakh side counter-attacking opportunities. I think we can’t underestimate any team in this tournament. We have to do our best in every match we play. However, our goal now remains unchanged – to make it to the top four. I think our performance today is okay, but when they started to make mistakes, the mistakes always come out consecutively. We have to go back and work more on this problem.”
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