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2007 Women’s World cup:
Kenya lost to Thailand
in Tiebreak
 Nagoya,
Japan, November 14, 2007 -- Thailand won the battle of the World
Cup's two winless teams with a hard-fought victory over Kenya at
Komaki Park Arena in Nagoya, Japan on Wednesday. The Thais
triumphed 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 25-13, 15-10 to improve their
record to 1-8 in the ninth day of the Women’s Volleyball World
Cup while Kenya dropped to 0-9 and still searching for their
first victory after they already had their first set win this
match. Kenya that led 2-1 before Thailand won the fourth set and
tie break lost a golden chance of achieving the first ever
victory for an African team over a non African one at the finals
of the World cup.
This match was a huge match for both teams as both were winless
coming into the game and there was a chance that the loser would
go home without a victory.
Thailand had the better record, having won five sets to Kenya's
zero. Kenya's longest match before this one was an hour and six
minutes and their shortest was just 52 minutes, while Thailand
had pushed the Dominican Republic to an hour and 54 minutes and
even stretched Cuba to an hour and 36 minutes. Their shortest
game, like Kenya's, was against Italy, with the Thais managing
to last just two minutes more at 52 minutes.
The Thais kicked off in typical slick fashion -- with
Rattanaporn Sanuanram delivering two crisp spikes -- and moved
into a 4-1 lead. A nicely placed soft shot by Pleumjit Thinkaow
brought the first technical timeout with the Thais 8-4 up. Onuma
Sittirak then moved into top gear with four thumping spikes as
the Thais extended their lead to six points at 12-6. Kenya's
main threat, the big-hitting Dorcas Ndasaba, landed a crashing
hit but the Kenyans just weren't creating enough spiking chances
to damage the Thais. Thinkaow hit consecutive spikes, both from
slick short sets by Nootsara Tomkom, and the Thais were soon
21-9 up. Kenya captain Catherine Wanjiru landed two hits before
Sittirak responded with a massive blast. Narumon Khanan brought
setpoint with a spike and Sanuanram put the Thais 1-0 up.
A resounding wallop by Doris Palang'a started things off well
for Kenya at the beginning of the second set and Ndasaba also
managed to land a crushing blow in the early stages. But the
early play was sloppy by both sides, with the Thais managing to
gain a slight advantage at 8-5. Two bombs by Palang'a and
another by Ndasaba brought the Kenyans level at 9-9, but the
Thais' short-setting trick was working well and Sanuanram landed
another nice spike to put the Thais ahead, a lead that widened
with two Kenyan errors on reception. Another wallop by Ndasaba
was offset by three more Kenyan errors and the Thais were 16-13
up at the second technical timeout. After a rocket by Wilavan
Apinyapong, Kenya pulled back to within a point at 18-17 thanks
to a great block by Diana Khisa and after a Thai error on
reception, the Kenyans were up 20-19. The two teams were tied at
23 when Thinkaow leveled with a spike, but a great block by
Brackcides Khadambi on Sittirak gave Kenya setpoint. Palang'a
also came up with a great block and she followed up with a
typical crashing spike to give Kenya its first set of the
tournament.
Not surprisingly, the Kenyans had their tails up at the start of
the third set, and rushed into a 4-0 lead over the deflated
Thais. Sittirak and Apinyapong managed to come up with heavy
hits for the Thais, but the Kenyans were smiling again and
Ndasaba was starting to punish the ball. After falling behind
8-3, the Thais closed on a big hit by Thinkaow and a sensational
tipover by Tomkom, but they couldn't sustain the challenge and
poor defense allowed Kenya to stretch their lead to 14-9. Thai
captain Apinyapong led the Thai fightback with a good block on
the big-hitting Palang'a and two meaty spikes and the Thais were
soon level at 17-17. But poor defense let the Thais down again,
while another great block by Khisa and a flying smash by Mercy
Moim gave Kenya a four-point lead. Although the Thais closed to
within a point on two occasions, Wanjiru's big hitting kept her
team on top. A block by Khadambi brought setpoint and a netted
spike by Thinkaow put the Kenyans 2-1 up and in sight of
victory.
The Thais were back to their normal steady game at the start of
the fourth set, while Ndasaba lost her spiking range. Thinkaow
also blocked Ndasaba well as the Thais dominated the early play
and cruised into an 11-4 lead. Edna Rotich led the fightback for
Kenya with three excellent spikes and the Thais contributed to
their problems with two errors. But a spike by Apinyapong and a
poor service return by Kenya gave the Thais a six-point lead at
the second TTO. Four inexplicable reception errors on serves by
Amporn Hyapha handed the Thais a 10-point lead and from there,
the Thais could cruise home. Thinkaow converted two short passes
from Tomkom for setpoint and a block by Hyapha on Khisa drew the
two teams level at two sets each.
Apinyapong came up with three big points early in the tiebreaker
to put the Thais on the right path. Janet Wanja responded with a
quick-thinking tipover, but Hyapha blocked Wanjiru and the
Kenyan then thumped a shot into the press seats, putting
Thailand up 8-3. A huge serve by Thinkaow added a point to that
lead before Wanjiru found her mark. But the Kenyans were playing
catchup, while the Thais were once again playing good
volleyball. A big hit by Hyapha had the Thais up 11-6. But the
Thais' defense, which had severe lapses at times, again let the
Kenyans back in, and Kenya was able to close the gap to 11-9.
But Hyapha steadied the ship with a spike and a serve that the
Kenyans couldn't handle to put Thailand 13-9 up. Saymai
Paladsrichuay delivered a strong spike for match point and
Sittirak finished things off with a flying spike driven right
through the middle of the Kenyan defense.
Photo Caption
Brackcides Khadambi (KEN) attacks
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