By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Choco Mucho bucked a slow start and turned back Rebisco, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-17, Wednesday in the classification round for fifth to seventh places of the 2021 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Fighting for bragging rights, the Choco Mucho spikers played more solidly against their compatriots to arrange a fifth-place match against Kazakhstn’s Zhetysu VC on Thursday.
Choco Mucho struggled with their erratic plays in the opening set where they gave up 11 points, but returned with a rock-solid defense in the second set that helped them turn things around.
They took a 10-8 lead anchored on an improved offense from Kalei Mau and the creative plays of setter Deanna Wong before pulling away for good.
MJ Phillips and Ria Meneses also made the difference for Choco Mucho particularly in the next two frames, further strengthening their offense at the net.
It was Choco Mucho’s first win in the tournament after finishing with a 0-2 mark in the preliminaries and bowing to Supreme Chonburi, 25-13, 25-22, 25-21, in the quarterfinals.
Rebisco, meanwhile, finished the tournament winless as it lost its three matches in the preliminaries and a 25-11, 25-19, 25-18 quarters defeat to Nakhon Ratchasima QminC.
Overall, Choco Mucho made more attacks against Rebisco, 53-45, and had more blocks, 9-4. Both teams committed same number of errors – 27.
