Thailand edges Puerto Rico in five sets

SHENZHEN, China, May 24, 2013 – Thailand overcame Puerto Rico to win five sets (21-25, 25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 15-5) to conclude the second phase of the China International Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Friday with a 2-1 win-loss record.

Puerto Rico, forced to play five sets in each of the three matches of the four-team series, finished at 1-2.

Onuma Sittirak was the leading scorer of the winning side with 29 points, followed by Wilavan Apinyopang with 18 and Pleumjit Thinkaow with 12.

Puerto Rican Karina Ocasio-Malpica had a match-high 34 points while Yarimar Rosa added 11 and Ania Ruiz and Lynda Morales each contributed 10 points.

“It was an up-and-down match for us but the tournament was a test event for us to see where we were and prepare for the Pan American Cup,” Puerto Rico coach Rafael Olazagasti said.

In the last match of the competition, China blanked Thailand 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-13) to conclude with an undefeated 3-0 mark and 6-0 overall for the two-phase tournament. The losers finished with a 2-1 record.

The overall record for the event at Ningbo and Shenzhen was: China (6-0), Thailand (4-2), Puerto Rico (2-4) and Cuba (0-6).