Montreux, Switzerland, June 2, 2016- The third game of the third day at Pierrier Sports Hall in Montreux introduced Thailand and The Netherlands from Pool B. Thailand showed an incredible performance defeating volleyball European giant Serbia the previous night and The Netherlands had won their previous match against Switzerland. Thailand made an incredible comeback as they lost the first two sets, later recovered against volleyball’s best The Netherlands, winning 3-2 (26-28, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 15-10).
Today has been one of the longest game day in Montreux Volley Masters tournament history. Thailand started the match in a spectacular fashion dominating the Dutch side. However, towards the end of set, there was an incredible battle as the Dutch side caught up 26-26. The sports hall was full of Thailand fans chanting for their home team to push the powerful Dutch side. The Netherlands won the first set battle by blocking off most attacks 28-26 after violent rallies.
The second set started off with long rallies as Thailand was stubborn in forming a dominance against the tall Dutch blocks, but the The Netherlands took lead by two points towards mid-set. Thailand at the end of the set couldn’t withstand against the tall Dutch blocks later lost the battle in the second set by 25-21.
The third set began with an ultimate battle as it was Thailand’s last chance to hold on to the set, but the tall Dutch blocks were keeping Thailand side under domination hence why each point led to extremely long and entertaining rallies. Netherlands’ Celeste’s and Robin’s powerful spikes caused difficulties to the Thai defence as they had problems with reception. Towards the end of the set, Thailand fought an incredible battle with Kongyot’s powerful spikes bringing the score to 20-18. Thailand made a great comeback and won the set 25-20 made the score 2-1.
The fourth set was an incredible battle between the two strong sides and of course the Thailand fans added a beautiful colour to the game, cheering on with instruments and chanting “Go Thailand”. The game stood still at 18-18 with an excellent rally. Thailand took their second timeout when the score was 20-20, it was their last chance to stay in for another battle to win the Dutch side. Thailand won the fourth set 25-23 with spectacular support from their fans which brought the game to tiebreak.
The last set of the game was extremely stressful for both teams, it was action-packed. Thailand switched sides 8-4 ahead but the game proved it was unpredictable which engaged the fans even more. The Netherlands lost the opportunity to turn the game around when the 188 cm tall middle blocker Yvon Belien missed her serve and gave a match point. Thailand won the set 15-10 and the game 3-2. Thailand’s wing-spiker Ajcharaporn Kongyot contributed 34 points scoring the most points so far.