International Volleyball

THAILAND BOOK SPOT IN NEXT PHASE OF WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

THAILAND BOOK SPOT IN NEXT PHASE OF WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Pimpichaya fires 21 points towards a straight-set victory over Korea

Thailand defeated Korea in Pool B’s all-Asian clash to book a spot in the next phase of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship 2022. At the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, the Thais hammered out a 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-14) clean slate on Thursday, leaving the opponents out of contention.

Thailand improved to a 3-1 win-loss record and eight points, a point short of undefeated pool leaders Poland. On 2-1 each, the Dominican Republic (7 points) and Türkiye (6) come next in the current pool standings, followed by pointless Croatia (0-3) and Korea (0-4). Later on Thursday, Türkiye will meet Croatia at 17:30 local time (15:30 GMT) and hosts Poland will take on the Dominican Republic at 20:30 (18:30). The top four teams from each of the four round-robin pools will advance to the second pool phase of the tournament.

· Watch all FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship 2022 matches live on Volleyball TV.

Thailand dominated the match and outplayed Korea on all counts. Opposite Pimpichaya Kokram delivered the match high of 21 points, including an ace and a block. Her success rate in attack was 63%. Spiking at a success rate of 58%, outside hitter Ajcharaporn Kongyot added another 12 points towards the victory. Outside hitter and captain Park Jeongah was the only player to reach double digits on Korea’s side, with 11 points to her name.

Ajcharaporn in attack

Korea’s Lee Dahyeon scored the first point of the match with a quick spike through the middle. Twice more in the first set, the Koreans had a one-point edge, at 3-2 on an ace by opposite Lee Seonwoo and at 5-4 on an ace by Park Jeongah. With Pimpichaya on fire in attack, however, Thailand scored six in a row to break away with a 10-5 lead and never looked back. Pimpichaya added an ace for 18-8 to her impressive eight-point tally in the first set and Ajcharaporn produced the 25-13 winner.

A three-point series, crowned by an ace from middle Thatdao Nuekjang, gave Thailand an early 5-2 lead in the second set. Improving their performance in both offence and defence, Korea kept pace until 14-11 Thailand’s way. A beautiful mega rally was finished off by Pimpichaya for 15-11 and Thatdao added another ace for 16-11 to set off a five-point series to 19-11 and practically decide the set. With many of their backup players on the court, Thailand cruised on to a 25-15 close, shaped up by outside Chatchu-On Moksri with a successful swing…

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