Almaty, Kazakhstan, 25 June 2016 - Chien-Chen Chen led Chinese Taipei to their second win of the weekend in Kazakhstan, with a 3-1 (25-23, 16-25. 30-28, 25-21) over Germany to move clear in the Pool F, Group 3 standings.
After yesterday’s haul of 17 points, Chen continued his impressive form with 23 points in the four set win over Germany, whilst for the European side, Daniel Malescha, matched his opponent with 23 points of his own in a losing effort.
In their first ever meeting in the World League, both Germany and Chinese Taipei started the game cautiously as they searched out the weaknesses of each other. Germany captain Dirk Westphal was impressive early in the match as the European side looked to take control. However it was the AVC side that edged the opening set 25-23.
Germany hit back in the second set to establish an early lead, with Malescha starting to show his influence on the game, pitching the European side to control the set. This earned his side a chance to level the tie in quick time and they made no mistake, taking the set comfortably 25-16 for a 1-1 scoreline.
Both teams were now settled into the match and it became a cat and mouse game of attacking the net, as both teams had chance to take control of a crucial third set. Errors from both sides were also starting to creep in but Chen was keeping his composure to take Chinese Taipei into a tie-break, where they wrapped up the set on a German error for a 30-28 set win and a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set saw Chen lead his side into an early lead, with Germany having to play catch-up to keep themselves in the match. Despite taking their chances, the German side could never quite cut the deficit to Chinese Taipei, as they closed out the victory with a 25-21 set win for a 3-1 scoreline, with Chen beating yesterday’s haul of points with 23 more against Germany.