Chinese Taipei, China, Macau gain victories on third day of Asian Eastern Zonal Championships preliminaries
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Chinese Taipei sealed the net against a Korean attacker |
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Hong Kong, China, July 3, 2014 - Chinese
Taipei and China trounced their strong rivals Korea and Japan, respectively,
while Macau clinched their first win on the second day of the three-day
preliminary round of the Asian Eastern Zonal Women’s Volleyball Championship
2014 at the Ma On Shan Sports Centre on Thursday.
Chinese Taipei managed to overcome Korea with
a straight sets (26-24, 25-17, 25-21) victory in the third and final match of
the day in Pool A. Chinese Taipei and Korea fought for every point at the
beginning of the first set and levelled the scores several times. Korea were
first to break through but Chinese Taipei applied an effective blocking scheme
that helped them rally with a 26-24 score on the initial set.
The second and third sets were full of
see-saw situations but Chinese Taipei always found a way to gain momentum and
control of the match.
Chinese Taipei captain figured well on the
scoring end with 20 points, including two aces.
“We dominated this match because of our
powerful serves and solid blocks,” said Chen. “The tactical instructions of our
coaches also helped a lot to win this match.”
Earlier, China came back in the match after
their first set fumble to defeat Japan 3-1 (17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15) in Pool
B. The battle between these teams were closely fought. Japan started the match
with many combinations plays, which China did not manage to adapt to
immediately, conceding the first set to Japanese squad.
China soon recovered and showed more
determination on displaying more solid blocks and a variety of offensive
strikes. Japan committed errors in the latter phase of the second set that
allowed China to take over. China maintained their steady performance and
sturdy defence on the third and fourth sets, which led to their triumph over
Japan.
Macau came forth after being two sets down
to edge Mongolia in an epic five-setter (24-26, 12-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-13)
that lasted two hours.
Mongolia started much focused in the match
that got them through a fierce fight in the latter part of the first set with a
26-24 win. Mongolia followed through with a 25-12 win on the second set without
much hard fighting from the Macau team.
Macau made a reversal – showing more focus
on offence and defence – that allowed them to edge the Mongolians in the third
and fourth sets. Macau and Mongolia scored almost evenly on spikes, blocks and
services but Macau powered their way to race ahead of the Mongolians on both
sets to force a tiebreaker.
In the deciding set, both teams showed
toughness on their plays as the score remained close. Macau showed more mental
toughness in the end that eventually rewarded them with the victory. Macau
captain Lei Sin Kuan scored 22 points from 21 spikes and an ace helped her team
to this historic match over Mongolia.
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