Ardabil, Iran, May 1, 2017 – Kazakhstan registered their first win at the SMM 2nd Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship following a fantastic 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 22-25, 16-14) comeback victory over Uzbekistan at the Rezasadeh 6000-seat Indoor Stadium Hall on Monday.
Uzbekistan closed out the first set 25-20, using the opponent’s errors to gain the comfortable victory. Kazakhstan made a strong comeback with their excellent spikes up to the end of the second and third sets. Uzbekistan then made it harder for the Kazakhs to score some crucial points in the fourth set, where both sides were tied at 20-20. However, Uzbekistan stretched the battle to the fifth set, thanks to Islomjon’s sharp spikes. Prediction got tough as the match went in edge and the fans experienced the opening breathtaking match in a way that they were tied 14-14 in the decider. Denis Yechshenko of Kazakhstan took the hard-fought set 16-14 and match.
Azamat Rakhov, Kazakhstan’s captain, said: “We did not enter the court with full concentration as the climatic situation here in Ardabil is different from ours. We will be adapted in next matches”.
Yet Head Coach Oleg Kuznetsov found the climate not a very important factor and said: “We were not familiar with the Uzbek style and they played so strong this is why we could not finish in straight sets. All the matches are important for us.”
World No.39 Kazakhstan will have a rest day on Tuesday, while Uzbekistan will next face Chinese Taipei in their Pool B preliminary match.
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