Irina Lukomskaya of Kazakhstan sets back for Lyudmila Issayeva
Almaty, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2016 - Kazakhstan brought the home crowd to their feet as they earned the second berth for the Group 3 final of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix. The hosts managed a 3-2 win (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 18-25, 15-9) against Colombia at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace on Saturday.
Yekaterina Zhdanova, Lyudmila Issayeva, and Katerina Tatko each punched in double-digits. Every player on the Kazakh side contributed a point, which affirms the masterful distribution of plays by setter Irina Lukomskaya.
Colombia tried to be equally flexible in their offence, with a variety of powerful hitters, all in their armoury. Kenny Moreno, Madelaynne Montaño, and Melissa Rangel also had double-digits to boot. But the Colombians proved to be more prone with errors.
After suffering two sets down, Colombia enlisted tighter defence at the net, and looked to this as their clear advantage against the hosts. They improved even in their digging, which sustained exciting rallies that thrilled the crowd.
Moreno and Montaño continued on fearlessly in their attacks, with aid from Maria Martinez’ slurry of points that helped force the decider.
It was all steady for Kazakhstan in the tie-break, while Colombia crumbled with their errors. The hosts capitalized on their momentum and created a huge advantage towards the end of the match.
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