Almaty, Kazakhstan, June 26, 2016 – Chinese Taipei captured a 3-1 win (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22) against Kazakhstan at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace on Sunday. This brings the Chinese Taipei to their fourth victory in their debut campaign in Group 3 of the FIVB Volleyball World League.
Chien-Feng Huang came off the Chinese Taipei bench and scored a total of 16 points in clutch plays of the match. Ming Chun Wang, who also began the match as a substitute, chalked in another 16 points. Vitaliy Vorivodin was the best scorer for the host team with 15 points.
Both teams played up their strengths in the first set. Kazakhstan showed a powerful side of their offence with Maxim Mamedov firing from the flanks and Anton Kuznetsov playing a strong game in the middle. Chinese Taipei proved they could play good defence and toiled to chase every ball they could. While prolonging rallies, they also displayed good decision-making on transition. They resorted to Wang Ming-Chun in their attacks as their starter Tsung-Hsuan Wu had to exit with an injury. The host team had a better grip on the end of the first set and won, 25-23, with Mamedov’s swing from the left.
In the second set, Kazakhstan installed firm defence at the net with Nodirkhan Kadirkhanov clinching a string of points in the middle. Sergey Kostiv, together with Vorivodin, also helped in collecting much-needed points. It was once again a close fight with neither team pulling away with a huge lead. The deciding moment was an ace by Hung-Min Liu to give Chinese Taipei the lead at 21-20. Ming Chun Wang continued to work from the wings to get 25-23 in the second set.
In the third set, Chinese Taipei started with their second setter Ju-Chien Tai, which proved to be a good call by coach Ke-Chou Chen. Tai was able to orchestrate the offence to his wide variety of hitters and when the opponent struck by, they played their brand of defence. They likewise made use of their blocks, including the deflection that sealed the third set 25-22 in their favour.
Kazakhstan likewise looked to their blocks in the fourth set, to prompt Chinese Taipei to change the speed and direction of their usual attacks. The hosts later suffered from their errors while Chinese Taipei’s substitutes delivered when and where needed. The visitors were able to hold on to their win, taking the fourth set, 25-22.