The Philippine team put up a good fight but fell down the rankings after they lost to South Korea in a four-set game (25-13, 24-2, 25-7, 25-21) in the Asian Women’s Volleyball (AVC) Cup last Friday, September 21 at the Korat Chathai Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand.
Yerim Go and Hyejin Ha were the top scorers for South Korea at 44 hits, while Alyssa Valdez was the only double-digit converter for the Philippines at 15 markers, 14 kills, and an ace.
The game opened in favor of South Korea, with the Philippine team having difficulty defending on their side. The favor for the Koreans became as much as 19-8 because of errors from the opposing team.
Setter Jia Morado led the way for the Philippine team to have a stronger second set, helping Maika Ortiz turn a 6-10 deficit into a 13-10 lead. It was a back and forth battle between the PH and South Korea after that until the set led down to favor the Philippines with a deuce and a steal.
South Korea dominated the third set with the Filipinas only able to convert seven points. The difference began with a massive 16-1 run, then a 22-5 lead, until it boiled down to a 25-7 set.
The fourth set was a lot like the first, with Ha Hyejin leading the way and Valdez unable to control her hits to remain in bounds. They went back and forth until at 19-18, the Koreans produced four straight points to get that five-point lead. Team Philippines answered, but it was not enough and the set ended at 24-21.
To fight for the ninth place, the team of Filipinas have to go against Team Kazakhstan (who recently lost to the Vietnamese team) at 2:30pm on Saturday, September 22.