Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, April 28, 2023 – Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force brushed off Khuvsgul Erchim in comfortable straight sets 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 to bag their second win in the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium here on.
Diamond Food fielded a strong lineup led by the 193cm-tall opposite Serbian Natasa Cikiriz, highly-skilled Nootsara Tomkom and hard-attacking Sasipaporn Janthawisut in the first set against Khuvsgul Erchim, the Mongolia’s first team ever which had already beaten Hip Hing 3-1 on Thursday. The Thai team enjoyed mixed lucks in their first two matches with stunning 2-3 loss to the 2021 champions Altay VC from Kazakhstan and 3-0 win against Hip Hing VC from Hong Kong, China,
Diamond Food made a solid start to dominate the opening set. Natasa and Sasipaporn tore the Mongolian defence apart with their spectacular attacks, with the former using her height advantage to overcome the smaller blockers and the latter firing aggressive spikes. The Thai team took an early lead 12-6, remained in fine form to extend it to 22-11 and took the first set without much effort 25-14.
The second set was briefly closely-contested when Khuvsgul Erchim bounced back from the first-set loss with attacks from opposite Bayanjargal Jigjidkhorol and middle blocker Khandsuren Gantogtokh to trail Diamond Food narrowly at 6-5, 8-7 and 12-11. After that, the Thai side turned things around and Natasa’s and Kanjana Kuthaisong’s attacks made the big difference in the rest of the set. They stormed on to win the comfortable set 25-16 to stretch the lead to 2-0.
Sure of another comfortable win in the third set, Diamond Food fielded several substitutions including Wipawee Srithong, Kaewkalaya Kamulthala and Pattiya Jangjan, but Khuvsgul Erchim taught them the best things in life are never easy. The Mongolians came back much stronger in this set as they did not fear the Thai counterparts and instead mounted a strong challenge against the tough opponents.
The score was leveled at 5-5 and again 10-10 before Khuvsgul Erchim counter-attacked well to put the team up front 12-10. As the game was tight, Diamond Food struggled when the Mongolians struck back with attacks to narrow the margin. They trailed the Thai team 15-17 and again 18-19, thanks to their solid defence and the will to win.
As Diamond Food took a narrow lead with a two-point clear at 22-20, Khuvsgul Erchim improved on their defence and good attacks for a reduced…
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