2018 ASIAN WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CUP
- September 16th-23rd, 2018
- Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
China won its 5th Asian Women’s Volleyball Cup in 6 itterations of the event, and Liu Yanhan was named the MVP after China swept Japan 3-0 on Sunday in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
China def. Japan 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-17)
- China wins gold, Japan wins silver
- Attendance: 3,000 spectators
- Match Stats
Yanhan’s output wasn’t on the same absolute scale as in the team’s semi-final win over Thailand, where she scored 42 points in 5 sets, but her 25 points in 3 sets on Sunday was basically the same per-set pace. Her hitting percentage did suffer against Japan though: she hit 60.6% in the semi-final, and just 37% in the final.
She made up the gap, though, with a team-high 7 blocks: part of a 19-4 Chinese advantage in blocking. Japan’s 6-1 service advantage (including 3 from Sayaka Yokota) and only 12 errors wasn’t enough to overcome the overwhelming Chinese block.
Zhang Yichan added 17 points for the Chinese, including 4 blocks of her own, and Yang Zhou added 5 blocks in spite of only playing about a set-and-a-half on the day.
This was still Japan’s best finish in this tournament, improving upon the 4th-place finishes they had in 2008, 2010, 2014, and 2016.
Thailand def. Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20)
- Thailand wins bronze, Taipei finishes 4th
- Attendance: 4,500 spectators
- Match Stats
The host Thai team, which brought many of its “A’ rotation players to this tournament, gave the home crowd something to cheer about when they won the bronze medal match in just 77-minutes via a sweep of Taipei. Onuma Sittirak started the first 2 sets, and didn’t play the 3rd, but still led all players with 12 points, followed by Pimpichaya Kokram with 11.
Thailand played well in the tournament, though they still didn’t have the services of their best scorer Chatchu-On Moksri, who injured her ankle in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games in August.
Thailand has still not announced their roster for the upcoming World Championships, which begin on Saturday in Japan.
Taipei was led by 10 points each from Chen Tzu-Ya and Huang Ching-Hsuan. They gave up 19 errors in the match, as compared to just 9 for Thailand (low even by Asian standards), which cost them in the end. Thailand also had a 13-7 block advantage in the match.
Final Standings
| 1 | China |
| 2 | Japan |
| 3 | Thailand |
| 4 | Chinese Taipei |
| 5 | Cietnam |
| 6 | South Korea |
| 7 | Australia |
| 8 | Iran |
| 9 | Philippines |
| 10 | Kazakhstan |
Tournament Dream Team
- MVP – Liu Yanhan, China
- Best Setter – Sun Haiping, China
- Best Outside Hitter (1) – Miwako Osanai, Japan
- Best Outside Hitter (2) – Ajcharaporn Kongyot, Thailand
- Best Middle Blocker (1) – Gao Yi, China
- Best Middle Blcoker (2) Tseng Wan-Ling, Chinese Taipei
- Best Opposite – Pimpichaya Kokram, Thailand
- Best Libero – Rena Mizusugi, Japan
Leave a Reply