Slovakia ranks twelfth at U18 Worlds Champs

Slovakia finished twelfth at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U18 World Championship in Durango, Mexico, after Thailand came from behind to defeat them 3-1 at the Auditorio del Pueblo.

Thailand vs Slovakia 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23)

The Thai bounced back from a first-set loss to find their best form and win the next three and take the match. Their victory was built upon their higher offensive efficiency (61 kills to Slovakia’s 45) as Slovakia was better in every other area of the game, registering more blocks (5-3) and aces (7-5) and fewer mistakes (28-32).

Outside hitters Ampha Sonsurat, with 22 points (20 kills, two aces) and Donphon Sinpho, with 21 (19 kills, one block, one ace), carried the Asian offense in the match. The top scorer was, however, Slovakian opposite Radka Haskova, with 23 points (22 kills, one block).

“I’m really happy because this was a real team win,” Sinpho, the Thai captain, reflected. “Slovakia is a great team and they fought until the end, but we were all working together, players and coaching staff. We made too many mistakes in the first set and we knew that we needed to limit those errors to be able to play our game. We always believed we could do that and once we started communicating better, we did it. We wish we had gotten a better position at the end of the tournament, but 11th isn’t bad. We’re proud of what we did here.”