Reigning champions Japan beats China in hard-fought four sets 25-17 18-25 25-17 25-19 in the final showdown of the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship

Japan was on cloud nine on Sunday as the reigning champions overpowering China in hard-fought four sets 25-17 18-25 25-17 25-19 in the final showdown of the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium to stretch their invincibility to eight including seven in a row.

Japan became the only team which did not lose to any rival en route winning the title on Sunday. The exceptional win over China was also a repeated feat as they had already beaten the Chinese side 3-1 in their pool plays earlier.

The Sunday’s final was Japan’s 10th in the top-flight event which included seven against China. The Japanese lost only two out of seven contested in the final against the formidable rivals. Among the eight titles Japan had won so far, the first one was in the inaugural event in Yala, Thailand in 1997. Japan also reigned supreme in 2005 in the Philippines, 2007 in Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand, 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2012 in Chengdu, China, 2014 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, 2017 in Chongqing, China and 2018 in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. The remaining four editions were won by China (1999 in Singapore, 2001 in Trang, Thailand, 2003 in Si Sa Ket, Thailand and 2005 in Mandaue, the Philippines).

 Against mighty China, Japan fielded a strong lineup which beat the same rivals in the preliminary Pool A match. They included Yoshino Nishikawa, Yoshie Kawakami and Aimi Okawa. China were spearheaded by hard-hitting Zhou Yetong, Liu Meijun and Wu Mengjie.

The well-established Japan came up with power and amazing speed which won them the first set 25-17. China upped their poise and played more consistently in the second set, seizing the chance when Japan became prone with hasty unforced mistakes to fight back with aggressive attacks and scintillating blocks to win the set 25-18. Japan remained unbeatable in the following sets to win 25-17 and 25-19, match and the Asian title.

In the other playoffs, formidable Chinese Taipei mercilessly crushed Kazakhstan in a completely one-sided battle 25-6 25-12 25-8 to grab the 5th place, Iran played a tough match against India before powering past the fighting rivals in thrilling four-setter 25-23 20-25 25-16 25-15 to take the 7th place, while Australia produced a magnificent come-from-behind 3-2 (11-25 25-13 23-25 25-13 15-12) victory over New Zealand to finish 9th place.

At the awards presentation, Japan, China and Thailand stood proud on the top-three podium. The trio, joined by Korea, qualified for the 2019 FIVB Women’s U18 Volleyball World Championship in Mexico.

TEAM RANKING
1. JAPAN
2. CHINA
3. THAILAND
4. KOREA
5. Chinese Taipei
6. Kazakhstan
7. Iran
8. India
9. Australia
10. New Zealand
11. Malaysia
12 Hong Kong

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
BEST OPPOSITE SPIKER
Manami Koyama (No.8, Japan)

BEST MIDDLE BLOCKERS
Wu Megjie (No.1 China)
Madoka Kashimura (No.2, Japan)

BEST OUTSIDE SPIKER
Yoshino Nishikawa (No.4, Japan)
Zhou Yetong (No.3 China)

BEST SETTER
Supatcha Kamtalaksa (No.13, Thailand)

BEST LIBERO
Jidapa Nahuanong (No.9, Thailand)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Yoshino Nishikawa (No.4, Japan)

Volleyball Women's League Women's:Poland defeated China in the new match of Volleyball Nations League.

After five sets Poland came out of the match as the winners! Olympic champions suffered a defeat of 25-18, 17-25, 18-25, 25-22, 12-15 in front of the home crowd.

Malwina Smarzek led Polish team with 35 points (5 aces) followed by Natalia Medrzyk 11 points. On the other side, Yingying Li finished the match with 19 points while Ni Yan was the second-best scorer of the team with 9 points.

During the match, Poland scored 14 aces while China only 3! And the winners put 11 blocks while China 8. Also, the host team scored more errors than the opponents (25/19)

2018 Volleyball Nations League Women's: Tandara and Brazil outclassed Turkey

In their first match of Week 2, Tandara Alves Caixeta hit 25 points to inspire Brazil to celebrated the four-set victory (25-17, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21) over hosts Turkey in front of a loud Ankara's crowd.

Beside Tandara, Drussyla Costa was also a menace and she scored 16 points while Amanda Francisco added 11 points. 

In Turkey, Eda Erdem Dundar was the top scorer with 14 points followed by Hande Baladin who scored 10 points.

Kazakhstan sent India packing 3-0 (25-16 25-22 25-13) in their last preliminary match to top Pool D at the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championshi

Kazakhstan sent India packing 3-0 (25-16 25-22 25-13) in their last preliminary match to top Pool D at the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium on Tuesday.

Zinat Kadyrbekova led Kazakhstan with 12 points including 9 attacks from 15 attempts, while Elakiya M. Muthu scored a team-high 10 points for India.

The win was a sweet revenge for Kazakhstan as they went down in straight sets to India in the recent Princess Cup 20th South East Asian Women’s U17 Championship at the same competition venue here. India picked up silver in that championship.

India, which came back to beat Malaysia 3-1 in the previous match, took an initial 5-1 lead in the first set, thanks to their solid defence. However, Kazakhstan roared back with great attacks from Kristina Strukova and Samai Ibrayeva to catch the Indians at 8-all and went on their unchallenged run to win the set 25-16.

The rhythm was still with Kazakhstan as they took the 10-8 lead in the second set. As the Indians regained their form to catch the rivals at 22-22, the Kazakhs still lived up to their expectation, winning three points in a row to snatch the close set 25-22.

The third set turned out to be a one-sided battle as Kazakhstan led from start to finish before capturing the easy set 25-13 and match.

“We expected a straight-set win in this match, but things turned sour as Zhannel Nogaibayeva, one of my key players, had a right ankle sprain during the morning practice. This was a big trouble for our team because, without her, I think we could not win easily. However, she told us she was okay and the show had to go on. I’m very happy that my team beat India as we lost to them 0-3 in the recent Princess Cup here.  A key for our team’s success was speed. Everyone in my team moved around the court during the competition to receive and dig. I hope that we can play this form in our next match,” Japanese Koichi Shuto, coach of Kazakhstan, commented after that match.

Kazakhstan captured the top spot in Pool D and will next take on Hong Kong in the quarter-final ranking round, while India is due to play Australia.

In the other game, Thailand overpowered Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought five-set thriller 19-25 25-19 21-25 25-20 17-15 to top Pool B at the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship.

Australia defied against all odds to stun Iran in tie-breaker 22-25 20-25 25-19 25-21 15-9 and top Pool C at their last preliminary encounter in the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium.

NEW TRANSFER BOMB: Kim Yeon-Koung in Eczacibasi!

In 2018/2019 she will again play in Turkey and her new team is Eczacibasi VitrA.

After many offers from Brazil, China and Fenerbahce, Kim Yeon-Koung decided to defend colors of the Turkish vice-champions.
With this contract we can say that Ecazcibasi will be very strong in the next season and for sure will have big goals in the domestic league but also in the CEV Champions League 2019.

Last season Kim played in Shanghai and before that she was a member of Fenerbahce. Everybody expected that she will return to Yellow Angels but it seems that Eczacibasi gave her a better offer.

NEW COMPETITION FORMAT UNVEILED FOR THE ASIAN WOMEN’S U17 CHAMPIONSHIP

All is set for the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship, the first Championship in which the AVC-initiated new competition format will come into effect with aims of improving the match day atmosphere and thrilling fans with action-packed competitions from the very beginning.

The top-notch championship will be held at the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium between May 20 and 27, with a total of 13 teams vying for the top honour and four tickets to contest the next year’s FIVB Women’s U18 World Championship in Mexico. However, Uzbekistan backed out of the competition a few weeks earlier.

World No.3 and four-time winners China, reigning and successive six-time champions Japan and Korea are in Pool A, with Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and hosts Thailand in Pool B. Pool C comprise Iran, New Zealand and Australia, while India joins Malaysia and Kazakhstan in Pool D.

On Sunday, Malaysia and Kazakhstan set up the curtain-raisers of the one-week competition, followed by the thrilling matches between Hong Kong and Thailand and New Zealand against Australia. The day’s highlight can be expected from last match of the day between Japan and Korea.

Ahead of the Sunday’s official kickoff, a joint meeting was held on Friday between Control Committee, chaired by AVC Secretary-General Mr Shanrit Wongprasert, and local organizing committee to confirm match schedule and all activities related to the competition.

“We suffer on the tight schedule. Apart from the Asian Women’s U17 Championship, which will be concluded on May 27, Thailand Volleyball Association have to be well-prepared for the Volleyball Nations League in Bangkok between May 29 and 31. So, we have to fix all the schedules here.  Some staff members here might have many activities to deal with. We just make sure that everything is put in the right place ahead of the start of the Asian Women’s U17 Championship on May 20. With cooperation among CC members and full supports from the organisers, I believe the championship will be a success,” Mr Shanrit said in the meeting.

Technical Delegate Dr Eom Han-Joo informed the meeting that the AVC new competition format will be used for the first time in the Asian Women’s U17 Championship.

“The AVC new competition system will be used for the first time this year for all AVC Championships, starting with the Asian Women’s U17 Championship here. The new format will make teams at the same level locked in tight contests from the beginning of the tournament. And of course, this will thrill fans who can watch closely-contested matches from the opening day. It’s totally different from the previous tournaments when we had to watch boring matches of strong teams taking on lower-ranked sides on the first three days of the tournament,” Dr Eom indicated.

“For the AVC new competition system, teams will be ranked respectively for pool assignments according to their performances in the previous edition, while teams which did not participate in the previous event will be assigned to the last pools. The teams, especially the lower-ranked sides, will have to fight all-out from the beginning to keep their hopes of advancing to the next rounds alive, So, the championship will have every one so excited, while expectations of each team are soaring,” he added.

Following the joint meeting on Friday, the first venue inspection was made which found that the Nakhon Pathom Municipality Gymnasium, fresh from hosting the “Princess Cup” 20th South East Asian Women’s U17 Championship from May 13 to 17, is well-prepared for the staging of the 12th Asian Women’s U17 Championship.

All participating teams already arrived in town on Saturday, ready to test their mettle in the championship, while the preliminary enquiry also came to a fruitful outcome.

The General Technical Meeting, presided by Lt. Col. Dr Sinthop Kaewphijit, president of Nakhon Pathom Sport Association, took place on Saturday at the Mida Grande Dhavaravati Nakhon Pathom Hotel, with team managers, staff coaches and team doctors from all participating teams in attendance to hear and understand the meeting agenda, all informations and requirements related to the competition.

The meeting was followed by the simple opening ceremony, with flag bearers from participating teams marching into the ball room, where the welcome dinner was held. Dr Sinthop delivered his welcome speech to all participants and flag bearers then placed down their flags. Everyone enjoyed all the dishes at the dinner buffet. Some traditional dances were performed on the stage, with all participating teams taking turns in showing their fun dances.

MATCH SCHEDULE (all local times)

POOL ROUND-ROBIN PRELIMINARIES

MAY 20, 2018

11.30am: Malaysia v Kazakhstan

2pm: Hong Kong v Thailand

4.30pm: New Zealand v Australia

7pm: Japan v Korea

MAY 21, 2018

11.30am: Chinese Taipei v Hong Kong

2pm: China v Japan

4.30pm: Iran v New Zealand

7pm: India v Malaysia

MAY 22, 2018

11.30am: Australia v Iran

2pm: Thailand v Chinese Taipei

4.30pm: Kazakhstan v India

7pm: Korea v China

KAZAKHSTAN, AUSTRALIA, CHINESE TAIPEI READY TO CONTEND AVC BERTH FOR FIVB CHALLENGER CUP

Coaches and captains of hosts Kazakhstan, Australia, and Chinese Taipei talked about their preparations and insights on the AVC Qualification for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace Press Centre on Thursday.

Kazakhstan coach Vyacheslav Shapran said: “We wish to welcome all the teams here in Almaty. We have previously played against Australia and Chinese Taipei. We surely like playing against these teams although it was very difficult to play against them. This is a new competition and we wish the best of luck to the coaches, and the players.”

“Last year, we were able to qualify for the FIVB World Championship. Our main task is to prepare for this Championship, as well as the Asian Games in August. Our road to build a strong team will be prepared well during these next matches,” Shapran added.

Kazakhstan captain Radmila Beresneva said:” Welcome to all teams, we are glad to see all of you here in Almaty. I wish the best of luck and good performance for all the teams.”

Australia coach Shannon Winzer said: “Hopefully we can learn from some of the things we did last year and do even better this year. We would surely like to do our best and hopefully qualify for the FIVB Challenger Cup. It’s about getting better every single year, and this a great test for us this weekend. We’ve been in Poland and Slovenia for the last few weeks, playing against European teams. This is probably one of the best preparations we’ve had. We are feeling confident but we always enjoyed playing against Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei.”

Australia captain Beth Carey said: “It’s good to be back here in Kazakhstan. You’ve always been very good hosts. We look forward some tough games, and we hope to just keep improving our play.”

Chinese Taipei captain Li-Yun Chang said: “We are very pleased to be here in Kazakhstan and we hope that everyone will enjoy the matches.”

The eventual winner will earn the right to compete in the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup, joining two CEV teams, one team from NORCECA, and the winning team from a playoff between CAVB and CSV.

KAZAKHSTAN, PAKISTAN, CHINESE TAIPEI BATTLE FOR RIGHT TO FIVB CHALLENGER CUP PLAYOFF

Coaches and captains of hosts Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, and Pakistan expressed their determination and readiness for the AVC Qualification for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup during the Press Conference at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace on Thursday.

Kazakhstan coach Igor Nikolchenko said: “We wish all the teams the best of luck in this competition. Our main task is to qualify for the next round, and with this, we need to play to win every match. We have invited young players and our main goal is to make these players stronger and work well within our program.”

Kazakhstan captain Alexandr Stolnikov said: “We always enjoy meeting with these teams and we wish everyone the best of luck.”

Chinese Taipei coach Yu-An Chen said: “We want to try and enjoy our game, and get the best result to qualify for the next round.”

Chinese Taipei captain Chien- Chen Chen: “We hope to enjoy the games and try to win every match with by giving our best effort.”

Pakistan coach Hamid Movahedi said: “This tournament is very important in line with the new plans of the FIVB. We wish to aim for the best result possible. My team is a new team. A year ago, we started to make plans for this national team and this competition is the best chance for us to improve.”

Pakistan captain Rasool Mohib said: “In Pakistan, we have formed a new team with new players, and with the support of our coach, we would simply like to do our best in this competition.”

The winners of the three-day men’s meet will earn the right for a playoff against CSV’s contender. One CAVB team, Two CEV teams and one NORCECA team complete the entries for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup Men’s Competition.

Thailand defended their title after a lop-sided 25-10, 25-8, 25-7) win over India in the final showdown of the “Princess Cup” 20th Est Cola South East Asian Women’s U17 Volleyball Championship

Wiranyupa Inchan scored a team-high 10 points including 7 attacks from 8 attempts, wile Ghosh Disha claimed four points for India.

With the boisterous support from the home fans, Thailand played with confidence to seal victory in the first two sets 25-10, 25-8 without much trouble.

Conceding one set, India regrouped to bring out their best form which saw them put up a good fight in the third set. Nevertheless, their determination was not sufficient as the host side remained aggressive from the wing and service line to see them take a commanding 10-0 lead.Thailand went on their spectacular performance and took total control of the game to clinch the set 25-7, match and the prestigious “Princess Cup.”

“The result meets our initial target although my players still have something to learn and improve. We prepared well for this match as we studied their game before the match. India didn’t show their best because we tried to put pressure on them with effective serving and it worked out pretty well. We also played with less mistakes,so I am quite satisfied with their performance,” Thailand head coach Chamnan Dokmai said after the match.

“It is a good preparation for our team for the Asian Women’s U17 Championship where we will face stronger opponents. Our goal is to qualify for the World Championship.We will try our best,” he added.