Japan's Nanami Hirose outplays Kenya's blockers Yvone Wafula Sinaida and Veronica Kilabat
Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 15, 2017 – Japan made short work of Kenya in their last pool match of the 2017 FIVB Women’s U23 World Championship here in Ljubljana on Friday afternoon. The Asians powered to an undisputed straight-set (15-7, 15-8, 15-6, 15-9) win against the chanceless African side.
All matches in Ljubljana are played under a
new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.
With today’s win, Japan have improved their win-loss record to 2-3 but depend on the result of Brazil versus Cuba whether they stay in the competition or not. The Caribbean, though, need three points in their duel with Brazil to run past Japan and make it to the 5-8 semifinals.
For Kenya, the 2017 FIVB Women’s U23 World Championship campaign ended today with their fifth defeat in as many matches. The African side is still waiting for their first set win in a women’s U23 world championship contest.
Misaki Yamauchi finished with a match-high nine kills for Japan while Yvone Wavinya and Yvone Wafula Sinaida contributed five points apiece for the losing side.
Kenya showed huge efforts to challenge Japan in the early stages of the match but could not cope with the speed and precision the Asians displayed. After the second set, Japan coach Kiyoshi Abo sent in four new players – however – it had no influence on the outcome of the match. After only 51 minutes, Japan closed it out with a Kenya service flying long.
Quick links - Volleyball:FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017
FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017 - ScheduleFIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017 - Teams
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