Montreux, Switzerland, June 2, 2016 – Turkey provided the perfect repose to their opening day defeat, when the 2015 champions toppled China in four sets on a dramatic second day at the Montreux Volley Masters.
Earlier, the Netherlands won in straight sets to eliminate host nation Switzerland, but it was dark horses Thailand, gold medallists in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, who stole the headlines when they snatched a tie-break victory against Serbia.
Defending champions Turkey put themselves back in contention for the semi-finals, by emerging with a 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-19, 25-15) victory against World Cup gold medallists China in Pool B.
Hande Baladin led the way for Turkey with 20 points, while Fatma Yildirim was crucial in defence with superb reception to set up their attacks.
The Netherlands marked their opening match with a stylish 3-0 (25-22, 25-9, 25-19) win over Switzerland. They dismantled their hosts and captain opposite Judith Pietersen finished with a haul of 14 points before she was forced off with a facial injury in the third set.
In the final match of the evening Pleumjit Thinkaow, Ajcharaporn Kongyot, and Malika Kanthong led the way for Thailand as they defeated Serbia 3-2 (16-25, 25-19,25-21, 20-25, 15-13). It means that Thailand require one more win to book their place in the semifinals, while Serbia will need to beat the Netherlands on Friday to progress.
Pool play will continue on Thursday, June 2 when Belgium open against China at 16:30 CET, followed by Turkey versus Brazil at 18:45 and Thailand versus Netherlands at 21:15.