Taipei, Chinese Taipei, September 21, 2008 – Japan and Chinese Taipei scored their second consecutive victory on the second day of the 14th Asian Women’s Junior Volleyball Championship and is leading their respective groups here on Sunday. Defending champion China and Sri Lanka tasted their first win after they lost their first matches in the previous day.

In Pool A, host Chinese Taipei, third finisher in last edition, beat Indonesia in three sets 25-21, 25-13, 25-13 and Thailand in their first outing crushed Australia also 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-15). In Pool B, Japan beat Korea 3-2 (22-25, 25-27, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10), China downed New Zealand 3-0 (25-9, 25-11, 25-12) and SriLanka was extended also into five sets to clinch their victory over India 3-2 (13-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 15-11).

The most exciting match of the day is the duel between Japan and Korea, which drew loud applause from audience and praise for their outstanding performance and their good show of volleyball.

Japan, runner-up in the 13th Asian Women Junior Volleyball Championship, started slowly and badly, lsoing the first two sets in close margins. Though lagging behind, Japanese players did not lose their confidence and fighting spirits. They surprised the opponents with their endurance as well as incredible defense, and won the next two sets consecutively, forcing the match into the tiebreaker. In the last set, team Japan continued their good form with effective blocking and strong spiking, taking the crucial fifth set 15-10 and resulting in their second win in the tournament.

Japan has beaten their two strongest rivals in the group matches and is expected to finish the top in Pool b. They defeated Chian also in fivesets in the opening day.

Following up the match, the vigorous team China breezed past New Zealand easily in straight sets 25-9, 25-11, 25-12, clinching their first victory after losing the first match to Japan while India fought another five sets, but did not enjoy the same luck as Japan and was beaten by Sri Lanka. Though encumbered with four rotation errors, team Sri Lanka still brought down their taller neighbor 13-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18,15-11.

Having a bye in the first round, Thailand seemed all fresh and easy today facing the Aussies, gunning down their rivals in straight sets 25-15, 25-12,25-15, .giving their opponents second defeat in a row.

In the last game of the day, host Chinese Taipei knocked down Indonesia in three sets. Led by the forceful attacker and captain, No.1 Chen Wan Ting, the first two sets were not easily obtained though, for team Indonesia is also strong in attacking. Yet contributed by No.3 Tseng Tzu Yu’s powerful jump serving and No. 12 Chen Shih Ting’s solid blocking, plus the setter, No.6 Hsieh Chian Yi’s various strategies, the host girls clenched their second win in the games, scoring 25-21, 25-13,25-13.

“Receiving is the key to our victory; what we play is speed volleyball, so if our receiving is good, everything will go well,” said Chinese Taipei head coach Sakakuchi Norimasa after match.

The Asian Junior Women Volleyball Championship is drawing a total of 11 teams, which are pooled into two groups for the preliminary round. Host Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Australia and Indonesia will play against each other in Pool A while defending Champion China, runner-up of last edition Japan, Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand and Korea are in Pool B.

The group standings after two rounds are as follows (tabulated under matches played, won, lost and points):

Pool A

Chinese Taipei 2 2 0 4

Indonesia 2 1 1 3

Thailand 1 1 0 2

Australia 2 0 2 2

Kazakhsta 1 0 1 1

Pool B

Japan 2 2 0 4

Korea 2 1 1 3

China 2 1 1 3

India 2 1 1 3

Sri Lanka 2 1 1 3

New Zealand 2 0 2 2