Japan wins a Pool H match of the FIVB World Grand Prix by 3-1
A Pool H match of the FIVB World Grand Prix took place between Japan and Dominican Republic on the 14th August.
The venue of the competition was the Park Arena in Komaki, Japan. Despite the fact that the Japanese were playing in their home ground, the Dominican Republic gave them a hard time in getting a 3-1 win.
The first set of the match was thrilling all through with no one sure where the tables would turn until the end, when the Japanese bagged the opening frame. The second set parked more fire in each side as it was tougher than the previous one but the Dominican
Republic could not seal a win.
The loss of the first two sets made the Dominican Republic fight harder in the third set and they were successful in grabbing themselves a win. However, the fourth set of the game was secured by the Japanese that won the match at the following final set
scores: 25-22, 26-24, 23-25 and 25-20.
The Japanese coach, Masayoshi Manabe made the following comments at the end of the match, “Today’s game was different from yesterday. Today, we kept our concentration, but really we didn't show our real strengths. But I am satisfied with the way we played.”
On the other hand, the Dominican Republic coach Marcos Kwiek shared his feelings by saying these words, “Compared to our previous matches, today was much better. As a team, our movement was good and I was pleased with that, and our offense is improving.
We still have many things to work on and I hope in Hong Kong we will improve.”
The first technical time out of the first set was reached with a Dominican Republic lead but during the later stages of the opening set, Japan had gotten the lead at 20-17. The Dominican Republic still fought on and battled vigorously but Japan remained
successful in bagging the first frame at 25-22.
The second set saw the Japanese fall into errors that gave the advantage away to Dominican Republic at the first technical time out and they were able to extend the lead till 15-18. The Japanese however did not give up and kept on the chase and the match
reach a tie at 22-22, 23-23 and 24-24. The win eventually went the way of the Japanese at 26-24.
The third set was tied at 10-10 but the Dominican Republic managed a lead at 22-21 that got them the set at 25-23. However, the fourth set of the game was bagged by the Japanese at 25-20.
Saori Kimura, the Japanese player, was able to tally the highest number of points in her team by scoring 21 of them while the Dominican Republic player Prisilla Rivera also scored 21 points.
Tags: