China-Vietnam
Iran vs. Japan
Risa Ishii have once again top scored for Japan, but this time resulting to a favourable outcome for her team as they claimed their first win in the competition by beating Iran in straight sets with the score of 25-17, 25-22, 25-20.
Iran admitted their inexperience and pointed out that this had an effect on the outcome of the match.
“My team does not possess the same amount of experience as Japan which really affected the outcome of our match,” Iran captain Rashidi Fatemeh said.
“I believe today we played considerably better regardless of the lack of experience of my players,” coach Sabanian Mitra added.
Even though they lost, Iran looks forward to a greater future.
“Volleyball is well developed in Iran and we are aiming to reach the scale of our men’s volleyball team.”
Japan coach Masayoshi Manabe believed that Iran’s blocking and service are good and they should continue improving these skills.
“Iran is very good in blocking and service, they should continue practicing these skills which has good potentials to improve their game,” Manabe observed.
Thailand vs. Chinese Taipei
Thailand played steadily and permitted its gunners Onuma Sittirak and Wilavan Apinyapong do their offensive responsibilities to take on the Chinese Taipei side in straight sets (25-15, 25-22, 25-19).
“I am very happy to win this tough game for my team and we really pushed ourselves to the limits in order win this one over,” Apinyapong said.
For Chinese Taipei, it is back to the drawing boards.
“We are not solid and we cannot overcome difficulties in our team,” coach Norimasa Sakakuchi explained. “We will just turn more attention to developing new skills and spend more time on training.”
Korea vs. Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan persistently disabled a Korean upsurge in the latter part of the third and fourth sets – resulting to another victory 3-1 (25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 25-21).
The second set was definitely a crucial part of the match that could either make or break Kazakhstan’s momentum in the competition.
“We definitely did not fail the second set, it was just an emotional breakdown caused by the pressure on court,” Kazakhstan coach Gutor Oleksandr said. “But Korea should be credited for playing with utmost strength.”
“Everything was perfect except the second set,” Korinna Ishimtseva added. “We were not anxious or concered about the course of the game – we were just relaxed and started taking our fortune for granted. This will be a good lesson for all of us – as such wrong attitude could be fatal anytime.”
Vietnam vs. China
China reigned in a progressively challenging straight sets win (25-12, 25-18, 25-23) over Vietnam.
Without chief playmaker Wei Qiuyue who usually runs China’s offense, they still managed to dominate Vietnam in all aspects of the match.
Hui Ruoqi played her typical game of blasting unstoppable spikes to her opponents’ side and was the team’s top scorer with 15 points. Hui’s performance on offense is not the only commendable proficiency she has, her defence likewise was exceptionally flawless leading her team with 10 excellent digs.
Vietnam somehow managed to progress in each match by putting more challenges at the net and tightening their floor defence. The defensive move by Vietnam came in rather late as the Chinese players pushed themselves to secure the match the fastest way possible.
