Zhangjiagang, China, July 25, 2016 – Teamwork, fighting spirit and crowd supports helped Chinese Taipei capture a thrilling come-from-behind 3-1 victory over defending champions Japan in the final showdown of the AVC Eastern Zone Women’s Volleyball Championship 2016 presented by Jinling Sports on Sunday night at Zhangjiagang Sports Center.
Stepping into the final with an unbeaten record, Japan showed their momentum with their quick attacks and good defense from the beginning. They built a good start and made short work of the rivals by taking the first set 25-14.
In the second set, Chinese Taipei improved their attacking with more diversity. And on the defense side, they moved more actively to pose efficient blocks to weaken the power of Japan. It was not so easy for Japan to score from their spikes any more. Chinese Taipei successfully evened up the odds by wrapping up the second set 25-22.
An excellent teamwork and a firm determination made Chinese Taipei stronger in the third set as their active spikes and attacks kept Japan under pressure, resulting in some mistakes and errors. Therefore, Chinese Taipei managed to take the lead and eventually clinch the third set 25-19.
In the fourth set, Japan changed the way of play and both sides fought to 23-23 tie. However, Japan did not grasp the crucial points at the end of the fourth set. Chinese Taipei got the fourth set win with 25-23.
Mr. Ling Ming Huei, head coach of Chinese Taipei was awarded the Best Coach, and Wu Wei Hua from Chinese Taipei was awarded the Most Valuable Player.
Mongolia beat Macao in five sets (25-20, 25-15, 24-26, 23-25, 15-12) in the 7th-8th place playoff.
With almost the same lineups on Saturday, Mongolia showed power at the beginning and secured the first two sets 25-20 and 25-15.
With nothing to lose, Macao fought back in the third set. Although Macao got a 7-8 behind before the first technical timeout. Three successive kills by Lei Sin Kuan helped Macao secure the third set 26-24.
In the fourth set, Macao seized the opportunity and got a 6-2 lead at the beginning. Withstanding the Mongolia’s counter-attacks at the very last moment at 23-23 tie, Macao successfully finished the set 25-23 following a powerful spike and an ace serve.
In the tie-breaker, Mongolia took advantage of five successful blocks with a 5-0 run on Macao and sealed the fifth set with a 15-12 win. The Macao’s girls bitterly lost the match 2-3 in tears and had to finish at the bottom of the ranking table.
Recovering from the disappointing loss on Saturday, DPR Korea took control of the match by breaking the defense of Hong Kong and smoothly claimed the victory by securing three sets. (25-20 25-16 25-18).
The match tone was set from the beginning as DPR Korea presented their violent style of plays and built an early 4-0 lead. Hong Kong struggled to catch up closer after the first technical timeout. After a 13-13 tie, two powerful spikes by Kim Yong Mi of DPR Korea allowed Hong Kong no chance. DPR Korea got the first set win 25-20.
Hong Kong committed more errors in the second and third sets under the big pressure. A serve error by Hong Kong sent DPR Korea to the match point and again a spike error from Hong Kong handed the victory and the 5th place to DPR Korea.
With an unexpected loss on Saturday, China lost the opportunity to fight for the champions. China met the preliminary-round rivals Korea and thrashed Korea in straight sets again 25-22 25-11 25-15.
Although making several errors, Korea tried to unleash good attacks from both wings. The Koreans fell behind from the beginning. China secured the first set with 25-22.
In the second set, Korea and China fought over the net. With effective blocks and spikes from Diao Linyu, Wang Chenyue and Wang Tingting, China easily got an 8-1 lead at the first technical timeout. Under the pressure, Korea made many errors. Xu Ruoya of China seized the opportunity and got several ace serves. China obtained the victory in the second set 25-11.
In the third set, Korea adapted themselves to the match and got a 6-4 lead in the beginning. However good blocks from China prevented them from disaster. China got the third set 25-15 and match.
Final Ranking:
1st place: Chinese Taipei
2nd place: Japan
3rd place: China
4th place: Korea
5th place: DPR Korea
6th place: Hong Kong
7th place: Mongolia
8th place: Macao