Volleybelles finally bounce back, nip Kazakhs

MANILA, Philippines – This time, the Philippines made sure that there’s won’t be another late-game collapse.

After a pair of heart-breakers, the Philippines finally barged into win column as it demolished a young Kazakhstan side, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-17, in the AVC Asian Women’s Volleyball Cup Tuesday night at the Chartchai Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

With Alyssa Valdez at the firing end, the Philippines recovered from a sluggish third-set performance en route to its first win in this prestigious club tourney.

Still, the Filipinas no longer have a chance to contend for a medal as they were relegated to the classification phase starting Thursday.

Their tormentors Iran and Australia will advance to the medal round.

Valdez delivered 13 kills and three aces for 16 points while Mylene Paat also came up with 16 markers for the Nationals, who avenged their painful five-set loss to the seniors team of Kazakhstan in the classification phase of the 18th Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta last month.

Anastassiya Rostovchshikov tallied 15 points for the Kazakhs, who opened the fourth set with a slim 8-7 lead before Valdez and Paat asserted their dominance to make sure that the game won’t go into another five-set thriller.

“I pushed them in the fourth set because they have the tendency to relax whenever they’re up,” said head coach Shaq Delos Santos, noting their massive meltdown in their first two matches.

“This is a morale-boosting victory for the girls. I hope we can sustain it in our next few matches.”