VOLLEYBALL – AUSTRALIA and Indonesia set up an exciting battle yesterday for fifth place overall in the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025, currently being hosted by Bahrain.
The Australians defeated Chinese Taipei in four sets to make it to the leading classification contest outside of the top four. Indonesia followed suit, digging themselves out of a two-set hole to claim a hard-earned victory in five sets to forge the head-to-head.
Their battle is scheduled for 2pm today at Isa bin Rashid Arena, located at Sports City in Riffa. It will be the second fixture of a four-game schedule, which includes two thrilling semi-final clashes.
Defending champions Qatar are set to take on Pakistan at 4.30pm in a rematch of last year’s title-decider, while hosts Bahrain play South Korea at 7pm in a highly anticipated encounter between familiar foes.
All are invited to watch today’s volleyball action, which will kick off at 11.30am with a tie for seventh place overall between Chinese Taipei and Vietnam. Entrance is free for all.
This year’s AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup has been organised by the Bahrain Volleyball Association, in cooperation with the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and Volleyball World.
It is being held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Australia’s victory was their first of the competition yesterday after previously losing their lone preliminary round fixture and then their quarter-final.
They split the first two sets with Chinese Taipei but then took firm control in the third. They then rode their momentum for a decisive showing in the fourth to win with a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-12, 25-19) score line.
Opposite spiker William D’Arcy-Miles led Australia’s squad with 18 points, while outside hitters Lorenzo Pope and Thomas Heptinsstall added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Middle blocker Trent O’Dea chipped in with 11, including five big block points.
Opposite spiker Yu-Sheng Chang had a game-high 24 points for his team in the loss.
Australia head coach Daniel Ilott expressed his pride in his squad for continuing to give their best in the tournament.
“We are a young team, and you can say that we have big players and big physical potential, but are still not very consistent yet,” Ilott told the GDN.
“It was difficult for us at the start of the competition because we had to play two very difficult matches against Qatar and South Korea, who are very good teams. We had some chances against South Korea – two or three points and we could have done something different.
“But I am very happy that the players today came with a strong mentality to play good volleyball, and it’s nice to see them doing what we know they can do on the court.”
Ilott stressed on the importance of winning today’s contest for fifth. “We are really focused on trying to get every game that we can – with the FIVB points system at the moment, every game is important,” he said. “But for us also, we are trying to build the energy and the confidence within the team.”
In Indonesia’s triumph, they shrugged off narrow defeats in the opening two sets and stunned their opponents in the next three. They fell behind late in set four but came up with the crucial points to force the tie-break.
There, they continued their charge until the final ball, sealing the 3-2 (23-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 15-12) decision.
Opposite spiker Rivan Nurmulki had an impressive 28 points in the win, while outside hitter Farhan Halim had 17 and middle blocker Hendra Kurniawan 10.
Outside hitters Ngoc Thuan Nguyen and Nguyen Van Quoc Duy were the leading force for Vietnam. Thuan had 30 markers, including three service aces, while Duy scored 21, including three block points.
Meanwhile, also yesterday, Thailand secured ninth place overall after taking their second win in the ninth-to-11th classification bracket yesterday.
The Thais defeated New Zealand 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 27-25) in their concluding game of the championship.
The Kiwis will now take on the Philippines to determine the 10th-ranked team in the tournament. That game is scheduled for tomorrow as part of the final day’s programme in this year’s AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup.
In Thailand’s victory yesterday, captain and opposite spiker Amornthep Khonhan was their leading scorer with 19 points. Outside hitters Anurak Phanram and Chaiwat Thungkham contriburted nine and seven markers, respectively.
Outside hitter Mana Placid scored 20 points to pace the Kiwis. Opposite spiker Seth Grant added nine in the loss.
Both New Zealand and the Philippines are still looking for their first win of the tournament.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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