East Java opens title defense with win

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Palembang

East Javanese women began their defense in the National Games (PON) volleyball competition with a convincing 3-0 win over Papua on Wednesday.

The defending champions won the match 25-19, 25-14, 25-23.

Purwitasari and Wenni Evitasari took turns sending powerful spikes to break the Papuans' defense, while Yokbet Kapasiang for Papua saw her efforts repeatedly foiled by the East Javanese blocking guards.

Only in the third did Papua manage to put East Java under pressure with a 22-20 lead before East Java mounted a comeback.

"Well, our players effectively blocked the Papuan players' spikes, and our smashes also worked well," East Java coach Ayub Hidayat said.

"However, the players slipped up in the third set, getting involved in an increasingly tight tussle," he added.

Papua coach John Alfons said that his team's loss was due to their failure to find their rhythm.

"They did it in the third set, but it was too late," John explained.

John said that he was optimistic about the next matches.

"It was our first game. We will be looking to build on that game and hopefully we can win in the following games," he said.