Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, May 17, 2017 – Uzbekistan claimed their first victory at the SMM 2nd Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship at The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima’s MCC Hall after cruising past New Zealand in thrilling four sets 25-18, 25-27, 25-15, 25-17 on Wednesday.
Uzbekistan, finishing third in Pool B, took on New Zealand, third in Pool D, at the 9th-13th classification round. Both teams earlier suffered straight two losses in the preliminary round and their win in the Wednesday’s match meant their first in this championship as well.
Uzbekistan opened up aggressively to win the comfortable first set 25-18 before New Zealand put up a fierce fight to capture the close second set 27-25. Saida Allomova turned out to be a big threat to New Zealand in the third and fourth sets to come up with aggressive attacks and well-placed serves. Uzbekistan claimed both sets 25-15, 25-17 and match.
Saida Allamova scored a match-high 21 points for Uzbekistan comprising 16 kills, 2 blocks and 3 ace serves, with Anastasiya Kolotova adding 19 points. Anilise Fitzi led New Zealand with 13 points.
“I am very happy for my team’s first victory in the tournament. We had two tough losses in the first round against Vietnam and Japan, but I think my players played a good match today although we still had some mistakes to improve. I hope that playing against strong teams in this tournament will help them acquire more experience,” Uzbekistan’s head coach Olga Isaenok said after the match.
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