Pool C: USA and Russia Qualify for 2nd Round at Worlds

With Tuesday victories, 5th-ranked Russia and 2nd-ranked USA qualified for second round action at the 2018 FIVB World Championship. 16th-ranked Thailand also notched a win, overcoming a key injury to get past Trinadad and Tobago in 4 sets.

2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship

• 29 September – 20 October
• Schedule
• Teams
• Pool C: United States, Russia, Thailand, Azerbaijan, South Korea, Trinadad and Tobago
• Kobe Green Arena (Kobe)
• Day 1; Day 2

#5 Russia def. #24 Azerbaijan 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22)

• Russia moves to 3-0 (8 points); Azerbaijan falls to 1-2 (3 points)
• Attendance: 290
• Match Stats

With a little luck and a dominant offensive performance 5th-ranked Russia cruised by 24th-ranked Azerbaijan in straight sets inside Kobe Green Arena Tuesday night.

“Our team and Azerbaijan have a close relationship because we have played each other so many times in European competitions,” Russia head coach Vadim Pankov said. “Azerbaijan is a strong team with a great serve and we needed a bit of luck at the end of the first set.”

The Russians were strong on the block, outdoing Azerbaijan 11 to 9, and took advantage of a sloppy 21 errors by their opponent to earn the victory and move to 3-0 in Pool C standings.

Nataliya Goncharova led Russia with a 17-point effort, followed by Kseniia Parubets, who contributed 13 points.

Azerbaijan was paced by Polina Rahimova, who posted 19 points in the match. Odina Aliyeva added 8.

#16 Thailand def. #34 Trinadad and Tobego 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-11)

• Thailand moves to 2-1 (6 points); Trinadad and Tobego falls to 0-3 (0 points)
• Attendance: 370
• Match Stats

Though 34th-ranked Trinadad and Tobego registered its first set win in FIVB World Championship history, 16th-ranked Thailand downed its opponent in 4 sets in 2018 FIVB World Championship action Tuesday.

“It was a very difficult game because Trinidad and Tobago has a lot of physical strength and a lot of height in the team,” Thia team captain Thinkaow Pleumjit said. “Sometimes we found it very difficult to hit spikes because of their high block system. In the fourth set, we could find our own style again.”

To earn the win, Thailand out performed its opponent in blocks (12 to 7) and service aces (11 to 5). A total of 26 errors stalled Trinadad and Tobago’s upset bid.

Just before Trinadad and Tobego earned the win in the third set, Thailand opposite hitter Pimpichaya Kokram exited the match with an injury to her right knee. She was taken to the hospital for evaluation in a wheelchair, but Thailand head coach Danai Sriwachamaytakul was optimistic after the match.

“It was a tough game because the Trinidad and Tobago players have a big physique and are very tall and strong,” Sriwachamaytakul said. “Our defense found it hard against their attack. After the third set I thought Trinidad and Tobago looked a bit tired. Our No. 16 (Pimpichaya) will go to the hospital tonight to check her knee injury but we don’t think it looks serious.”

Thatdao Nuekjang and Ajcharaporn Kongyot led Thailand to victory with 17 points apiece, followed by Pleumjit, who added 15 points.

Krystle Esdelle and Channon Thompson registered 15 and 14 points, respectively, for Trinadad and Tobego, which is making its first-ever appearance at the FIVB World Championship this year.

#2 United States def. #10 South Korea 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18)

• United States moves to 3-0 (9 points); South Korea falls to 0-3 (1 point)
• Attendance: 580
• Match Stats

2nd-ranked United States recovered from a slow start to earn a 4-set victory against 10th-ranked South Korea to move to 3-0 in Pool C competition at the 2018 FIVB World Championship Tuesday.

With 2 matches remaining, the Americans have already clinched a spot in the 2nd round.

“It is exciting,” said U.S. captain Jordan Larson on the U.S. qualifying for the second round. “It is one of our goals to continue through this tournament and be here for a long time. But we still have two matches in the first round, so I think it is important for us to keep getting better and focus on those two matches.”

Though South Korea held the edge in blocks (10 to 8) and service aces (8 to 7), it was not enough to dethrone the USA, who were led to victory by Kelly Murphy’s 18-point performance. Rachael Adams also contributed 14 points.

For South Korea, Jeongah Park registered 26 points, while Yeon Koung Kim contributed 17 points.

Standings Through October 2:

		Matches		Pts	Sets			Points
Rank	Team	W	L		W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	United States	3	0	9	9	1	9.000	248	187	1.326
2	Russia	3	0	8	9	2	4.500	253	201	1.259
3	Thailand	2	1	6	8	6	1.333	287	275	1.044
4	Azerbaijan	1	2	3	3	7	0.429	231	233	0.991
5	South Korea	0	3	1	4	9	0.444	266	288	0.924
6	Trinidad and Tobago	0	3	0	1	9	0.111	147	248	0.593

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
29 Sep	13:40	Russia	3–0	Trinidad and Tobago	25–21	25–11	25–12			75–44	P2 Report
29 Sep	16:10	Azerbaijan	0–3	United States	27–29	21–25	21–25			69–79	P2 Report
29 Sep	19:20	South Korea	2–3	Thailand	25–18	22–25	19–25	25–13	11–15	102–96	P2 Report
30 Sep	13:40	United States	3–0	Trinidad and Tobago	25–11	25–11	25–11			75–33	P2 Report
30 Sep	16:10	Azerbaijan	3–1	South Korea	25–18	25–18	23–25	25–18		98–79	P2 Report
30 Sep	19:20	Thailand	2–3	Russia	25–21	25–17	13–25	21–25	9–15	93–103	P2 Report
2 Oct	13:40	Russia	3–0	Azerbaijan	25–21	25–21	25–22			75–64
2 Oct	16:10	Trinidad and Tobago	1–3	Thailand	17–25	17–25	25–23	11–25		70–98
2 Oct	19:20	United States	3–1	South Korea	19–25	25–21	25–21	25–18		94–85
3 Oct	13:40	Azerbaijan	–	Trinidad and Tobago	–	–	–			0–0
3 Oct	16:10	South Korea	–	Russia	–	–	–			0–0
3 Oct	19:20	United States	–	Thailand	–	–	–			0–0
4 Oct	13:40	Trinidad and Tobago	–	South Korea	–	–	–			0–0
4 Oct	16:10	Thailand	–	Azerbaijan	–	–	–			0–0
4 Oct	19:10	Russia	–	United States	–	–	–			0–0