Phu Ly, Vietnam (CNN Philippines) — Stacked against another elite squad in Zhejiang of China, Petron closed its pool play with another loss, 14-25, 16-25, 20-25, in the 2015 AVC Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship late Wednesday (September 16) at the Ha Nam Competition Hall here.
Zhejiang, the reigning champion in the Chinese Volleyball League, used its size and power to the fullest to frustrate the Blaze Spikers in one hour and two minutes of battle to remain unscathed in this prestigious tourney which serves as qualifier in the FIVB World Women’s Club Volleyball Championship next year.
The Chinese will enter the quarterfinals on top of Pool B together with Taiwan Power, which also emerged undefeated in Pool A.
The Blaze Spikers, on the other hand, shut down its campaign in pool play with only a win in four games. They are set to face the dangerous Taiwanese in the knockout quarterfinals at 2 pm on Friday.
“The road to a better finish gets tougher from here,” said Petron coach George Pascua, who is using this tournament as part of the Blaze Spikers’ preparation for the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix which starts on Oct. 10 at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
“The Chinese were too tall, too strong for us to handle. We may have lost the game, but it was a good experience for us. Now, our mission is to win in the quarterfinals and classification phase to somehow come up with a better finish.”
Bannered by a handful of national team members, Zhejiang raced to a quick 7-1 start to crush the morale of the Blaze Spikers early on. They also asserted their might in the second set as they pounced hard on Petron’s erratic defense and misreceptions.
But the Blaze Spikers started to wax hot in the third.
With Dindin Santiago putting up a gallant stand in the attack zone, Petron managed to grab the driver’s seat, 7-6, before Wang Hiumin scored on a razor-sharp kill from the left flank to restore order for the Chinese entering the first technical timeout, 8-7.
It was all Zhejiang from there as Wang and Yuezhou Zhu connived to keep the Chinese ahead, 23-19. Then, Wang delivered the match point with a beautiful kill from the middle to seal the victory.
Ying Li registered 10 kills for a total of 11 points while Yunyun Bao chipped in 10 markers for the Chinese, who are looking to knock the crown off the head of reigning champion Hisamitsu Springs of Japan.
Manabat, meanwhile, served as the lone bright spot for the Blaze Spikers as she finished with 11 kills and two aces for a total of 14 points.
