Korea dominates Chinese Taipei to rule AVC Women's Cup
CANDON CITY, Philippine — Korea capped its dominant campaign in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Volleyball Cup with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 victory over Chinese Taipei in the gold-medal match on Sunday before a roaring full house crowd at the Candon City Arena here.
Sohwi Kang came up with 14 points, while Hyunsoo Na scored 12 and Yunju Jeong added 11 as World No. 31 Korea completed a morale-boosting run after some heartbreaking results in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
It was a much different match from their energy-sapping five-set showdown in pool play earlier in the week, as Korea came out firing on all cylinders to the delight of the packed 8,000-seat Candon Arena.
“I’m really happy we were able to have this very meaningful and valuable result today,” Kang said, noting that team confidence was low during a trying period recently in the FIVB’s top annual competition VNL.
“We were losing many games in the VNL. We felt the value of the victories in the AVC every time we won,” she added.
Kang, who averaged 14 points per match, was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and the City of Candon headed by Mayor Eric Singson.
Meanwhile, three-time champion Vietnam salvaged the bronze medal, getting back at Kazakhstan, 25-17, 25-12, 25-19.
Thi Thanh Thuy Tran had 16 points, Thi Bich Thuy Tran scored 15, and Thi Nuh Quynh Vi delivered 13 points as Vietnam exacted revenge on Kazakhstan, which won its pool play showdown in five sets and ended its run of 23 straight victories in the meet.
Kristina Belova had 10 points, while Zhanna Syroyeshkina and Tatyana Yatskiv had eight points each for Kazakhstan, which placed fourth for the second straight time.
Indonesia defeated Australia in the battle for fifth place, 25-13, 25-19, 26-24.
Iran denied host Philippines a solid finish, scoring a 25-21, 25-12, 25-21 victory in the battle for seventh. (Pool story)
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