Montreux, Switzerland, June 32016 - Thailand sweep hosts Switzerland
(25-23, 25-14, 25-18) in front of over 2,340 thrilled Volleyball fans.
Thailand swiftly books first semi-final ticket after winning 3-0 against Switzerland
Montreux, Switzerland, June 3, 2016- The second game of the fourth day at Pierrier Sports Hall in Montreux presented group favourite Thailand and host team Switzerland from Pool B. The game was action packed and presented a game full of incredible defence and smashing spikes. The South East Asian side and European side presented a spectacular show tonight giving the spectators an extraordinary volleyball experience. The action packe. Switzerland fought incredibly but their defence weakened by quick Thai volleyball play which enabled Thailand to win 3-0 (25-20, 25- 14 and 25- 18).
Pierrier Sports Hall was packed with Thailand fans and Switzerland fans cheering for their team in hopes of winning. Thailand has so far won their games against European volleyball giants Serbia and The Netherlands in long exhausting tie break matches. Switzerland didn’t win any games and this was their last chance to win points in the group.
The first set was extremely fast paced with an incredible battle between the two sides but Switzerland took lead at 9-6 making the Swiss crowd cheer even more loudly with traditional Swiss bells. The ambience of the sports hall was incredible with crowds from both cultures trying to out rule each other with instruments, dancing and chanting. The game later continued with straight forward spikes and blocks which it didn’t lead to long rallies. Towards the end of the set, Thailand caught up with Switzerland at 20-20 and later recovered the set winning with Thailand player Kokram’s excellent lifesaving spike.
The second set started better for Thailand as they were much more organised in defence allowing them to take lead throughout. Switzerland had trouble in their defence unable to defend by blocks or receive. Thailand won the second set 25-14 comfortably with excellent attacks and were quick to spot gaps in Switzerland’s defence.
The third set came with an incredible battle with Switzerland leading the first part as they were keen and eager to win the game. Switzerland was much better at blocking hence why it caused more rallies in this set than the previous sets. The Thai side was quick to catch-up later on with an incredible support from their dancing fans when Switzerland failed to form a dominance leading to many ties. Thailand dominated towards the end of the set with excellent aces and attacks which completely shattered the Swiss defence. The Swiss side attempted to make a comeback at 24-18 but team captain Laura Kunzler’s block went out which unplugged Swiss teams chance of winning the game. The most scorer for today’s game was Captain Pleumjit Thinkaow scoring 12 points and Ajcharaporn Kongyot scoring 11 points from Thailand.