Thailand go down fighting against USA to end volleyball campaign
Thailand suffered heartbreak at the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship on Saturday night after threatening to shock USA with two match points.
The world No 15 Thais roared to the brink of a stunning upset win before the No 4-ranked team clawed their way back for a 3-2 victory at Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland.
The Thais’ fourth consecutive loss in Pool F ended their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the event, which is being co-hosted by the Netherlands and Poland.
Saturday’s match followed defeats against Canada (3-1), Germany (3-1) and Serbia (3-0).
Thailand stunned USA by winning the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-21. The Thais then came within one point of victory twice after securing match points in set four.
However, the Americans escaped both times before winning the fourth set 27-25 and sealing the deal 15-13 in the decider.
The USA’s reward was a place in the quarter-finals.
Thailand ended their tournament seventh in the eight-team Pool F with 11 points (points from the first round were carried over to the second round).
The top four teams in each pool will advance to this week’s quarter-finals, with the final due on Saturday.
