Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, May 2, 2023 – Liaoning Donghua VC struggled to beat King Whale Taipei in hard-fought four-set thriller in the third-place playoff clash in the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium on Tuesday.
The dramatic 26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21 win in the exhausting 119-minute clash handed Liaoning, the team which finished 7th at the Chinese Volleyball League current 2022/23 season, the bronze medal, the first ever Asian Women’s Club medal in their club’s history. King Whale Taipei came in fourth place in this championship.
Liaoning fielded the similar lineup which earlier went down to Vietnam 1-3. They included Lin Xinyu, Shi Bingtong, and Sun Xizoxuan, while King Whale Taipei were led by hard-attacking Lin Shu-Ho, Wu Fang-Yu and Flavio De Carvalho Beatriz from Brazil.
Both sides started almost with the same level which saw Liaoning take an initial 14-13 lead before King Whale Taipei fought back, with Wu Fang-Yu and Lin Shu-Ho penetrating the Chinese defence with their sharp spikes and Lin Shu-Ho producing effective blocks to help their team level at 22-22 and 23-23. King Whale Taipei had a chance to win the first set when Carvalho Beatrix carried out an exceptional attack to put King Whale Taipei in front 24-23. However, they let the set win slip through their fingers when Liaoning recovered to score three points in a row including Lin Xinyu’s smart tipping in the last point. The Chinese team took the hard-fought first set 26-24.
Liaoning found their rhythm in the second set to lead commandingly with a 5-point clear at 14-9. Effective blocks from Sun Yuqing and Wang Lijia and lightning-fast attacks from Sun Xizoxuan and Lin Xinyu also played part in stretching the lead to 20-16. King Whale Taipei tightened their defence, aiming to stop a good run of the rivals, but their intention was to no avail. The Chinese counterparts cruised on to win the set 25-20.
Losing two sets in succession, King Whale Taipei held their nerves and played more carefully, refraining to make hasty mistakes. Taking a narrow 22-20 lead, King Whale Taipei continued their fine form to bring in the set point at 24-21 and Carvalho Beatriz fired a powerful attack to the back court for the team’s 25-22 win.
The fourth set was briefly dominated by Liaoning to lead 12-10, but King Whale Taipei were never-say-die as they upped the tempo and hit back to even it at 16-16. Sun Haiping and Wang Lujia came up with blocking spree to…
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