Ha Nam, Vietnam, September 12, 2015 – In-form Bangkok Glass, Zhejiang, 4.25 Sports Club and Taiwan Power got off to brilliant starts with scintillating wins over their respective rivals on the first day of the 2015 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship, the qualification for the next year’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship, at the 7,000-seater Ha Nam Gymnasium on Saturday.
In their opening encounters, Bangkok Glass of Thailand produced a hard-fought 25-23 25-22 25-22 victory over Kazakhstan’s Zhetyssu and Taiwan Power of Chinese Taipei pulled off a stunning 28-26 25-19 17-25 25-14 win over hosts Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank.
China’s Zhejiang proved too strong for underdogs Islamic Azad University, mercilessly crushing the Iranians in a lop-sided battle 25-7 25-10 25-17 and DPR Korea’s 4.25 Sports Club thrashed the Philippines’ Petron Blaze Spikers in straight sets 25-13 25-18 25-11.
A total of nine strong teams participated in this top-flight competition. Thailand League and Thailand Super League champions Bangkok Glass, Vietnam’s Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank, Taiwan Power from Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan’s Zhetyssu are in Pool A, with Pool B comprising title-holders Hisamitsu Seiyaku Spings from Japan, China League winners Zhejiang, DPR Korea’s 4.25 Sports Club, Iran’s Islamic Azad University and the Philippines Super Liga Grand Prix champions Petron Blaze Spikers.
The pool round-robin preliminaries kicked off on Saturday and will run through Wednesday, with the following day being the rest day. The top-flight competition will resume on Friday with the cross quarter-finals.
After the end of the first two Pool B matches on Saturday, the grand opening ceremony was held before a large number of over 7,000 home spectators packing the gymnasium. A beautiful performance by more than 200 dancers ahead of the march-in of the participating teams drew a great round of applauses from the audience. It has reflected host town Ha Nam’s intention to show their best preparation for the top-notch competition to all visitors. The performance has been regarded as one of the biggest ever displayed in any Asian volleyball tournament in history.
The colourful opening was followed by the curtain-raisers between hosts Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank and Taiwan Power, fielding all the national Chinese Taipei team players led by devastating left-hander Chen Wan-Ting and hard-attacking Chang Chen-Yi.
Both sides were tied 8-8 in the first set, before Taiwan Power gathered their courage, with Chen Wan-Ting and Chen Yi-Ju taking turns piercing the Vietnamese defence with their exceptional spikes. The host side, cheered on noisily by their fans, stretched it to 19-15 before the visitors mounted a strong challenge against them to successfully catch the hosts at 20-20. From then on, both teams poured every thing in their game, but Taiwan Power still have more in their tank, holding off the host side with a hard-fought 28-26 victory.
Going down one set, Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank tried to make a comeback in the second set. However, their attempts were in vain when Taiwan Power still controlled the game well. With Chang Chen-Yi and Chen Wan-Ting remaining the team’s key weapons to attack aggressively and the host side in erratic play, the Taiwanese team clinched the second set 25-19..
Playing with nothing to lose in the third set, Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank regained their composure to limit the visitors’ aggression with their markedly-improved form. The home audience came to life when their team took the set 25-17.
Things turned sour for the home fans when fatigue started to take its toll in the Vietnamese side in the fourth set. The tough visitors made short-lived of their rivals, beating Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank in a ones-sided battle 25-14 and a dramatic 3-1 win.
Chang Chen-Yi emerged as the top scorer for Taiwan Power after collecting 17 points including 13 kills from 48 attempts, while Do Thi Minh led Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank with 16 points.
Meanwhile, China League champions Zhejiang successfully cleared their first hurdle in the 2015 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship after annihilating Iran’s Islamic Azad University in a totally one-sided battle 25-7 25-10 25-17.
Qiu Yanan led Zhejiang with 12 points including nine kills. Li Jing assisted with eight kills. Borhani Esfahan scored seven points including six kills for Islamic Azad University.
“This is our first match in the championship and my players were a bit nervous. The Iranian team also played well. Although we did not get familiar with their form, I think they played well. We next take on defending champions Hisamitsu Springs from Japan. We have never met them before, but we will do our best to beat them,” Zhejiang’s head coach Wu Sheng commented after the match.
SATURDAY’S PRELIMINARY RESULTS
POOL A
Taiwan Power (Chinese Taipei) b Thong Tin Lienvietpost Bank (Vietnam) 3-1 (28-26 25-19 17-25 25-14)
Bangkok Glass (Thailand) b Zhetyssu (Kazakhstan) 3-0 (25-23 25-22 25-22)
POOL B
Zhejiang (China) b Islamic Azad University (Iran) 3-0 (25-7 25-10 25-17)
4.25 Sports Club (DPR Korea) b Petron Blaze Spikers (Philippines) 3-0 (25-13 25-18 25-11)
MATCH SCHEDULE
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015
4pm: 4.25 Sports Club (DPR Korea) v Islamic Azad University (Iran)
6pm: Taiwan Power (Chinese Taipei) v Zhetyssu (Kazakhstan)
8pm: Zhejiang (China) v Hisamitsu Seiyaku Springs (Japan)
No comments:
Post a Comment