Men's spikers take step closer to World C'ships
Hosts Thailand rallied to overcome Vietnam 3-1 while Indonesia battled hard to beat Myanmar in a five-set thriller on the first day of the Southeast Asian Zonal Men's Qualification for the 2014 World Volleyball Championship.
Before a large home crowd on Wednesday, world No 48 Thailand fielded a strong line-up to outclass Vietnam 28-30 25-23 25-21 25-17.
Spearheaded by two powerful hitters in Jirayu Raksakaew and Kittikun Sriutthawong, Thailand surged to a 20-15 lead in the opener thanks to devastating attacks at the net by Kissada Nilsawai, at 203cm the tournament’s tallest player.
Vietnam regrouped and hit back to draw level 22-22 then wrestled the initiative to win the set 30-28.
Thailand immediately made a change, replacing offence-minded Wanchai Tabwises and Kissada Nilsawai with Kritsada Somkane and Teerasak Nakprasong. The switch paid off, and a visibly improved team gained momentum as the game wore on, with Vietnam unable to win another set.
Jirayu Raksakaew scored a game-high 29 points for Thailand including 21 spikes, while Nguyen Huu Ha led Vietnam with 18 points.
“The victory was very satisfying. My team’s performance lived up to my expectations. In the first set, we led Vietnam by as much as five points but they struck back with never-say-die, counter-attacking,” Thailand head coach Monchai Suphajirakun said.
“Wanchai [Tabwises] was not at his usually high standard because he lacks fitness. I decided to replace him with Kritsada [Somkane] in the second set to improve our game, while I switched Kissada [Nilsawai], who is still young and inexperienced, for Teerasak [Nakprasong]. After the switch we played much better, and that’s what counted towards our win,” he added.“Vietnam are very strong. At last year’s AVC Cup they surprised everyone with the their quality.”
The other match saw newly-formed Indonesia win a titanic struggle against Myanmar 25-21 21-25 19-25 25-21 15-11.
