Indonesia takes 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei

Indonesia takes 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The men's volleyball team has cleared its first hurdle,
winning 3-0 over Chinese Taipei in Thursday's opening match of
the U-185 World Volleyball Championship at the Senayan Indoor
Stadium.

Senior player Robby Meliala, who usually plays for the Jakarta
Phinisi volleyball club in the national league, led the team in
overwhelming their opponents with continuous solid spikes.

Supported by hundreds of home fans chanting and cheering them
on, the Indonesian team took the lead from the outset through a
very close competition.

Helped by powerful spikes from Robby and Andri Eko, the
Indonesian team finished the first set 25-21 in less than 30
minutes.

Feeling confident over its first-set victory, the team
continued to give the Taipei players a difficult time with cross-
court spikes from the left, mostly delivered by Aries Arizqon.

Taipei blockers Ho Cheng Hsun and Huang Sheng Feng were unable
to stop the attacks from the Indonesian team, and the guest team
changed its strategy into dropping the ball softly at the net,
rather than sending hard spikes.

The change in tactics did not benefit Taipei much, as
Indonesia wrapped up the second set 25-12 with relative ease.

Shocked by their first two defeats, Chinese Taipei coach Chang
Mu San sent in ace spiker Lien Chien Chih, hoping to steal the
third set.

The strategy proved apt, and Taipei took the lead in the third
set, scoring 12-9 and maintaining their lead halfway through the
set. Meanwhile, the Indonesian men seemed to have lost their
focus, making a number of unforced errors.

Struggling to win the third set, the Indonesian team, aided by
Johan Rahmadi of the Surabaya Flame and Dwi Suharyono of the
Jakarta Monas clubs, equalized at 13-13.

The remainder of the set progressed slowly and tensely, with
both teams scoring alternately.

After a 40-minute neck-and-neck battle, Indonesia closed at
25-21, emerging the victor of the match.

However, the victory did not please team manager Yunyun
Yudiana, who said the team's performance in the opening set was
not as strong as he had expected.

"Our defense was too weak and our players were too eager to
play, so they didn't concentrate during the set," Yunyun said. He
added most of the players were overconfident after winning the
first two sets, and thereby almost lost the third set.

Captain Erwin Rusni concurred, saying his team had not given
its best, but was glad the team won 3-0 over Chinese Taipei.

"The next match against Russia will be harder than this,"
Erwin said.

Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei captain Lee Cheng Man was very
disappointed with the result of the match.

"We had a chance to win this match, especially in winning the
first set, but it was difficult, as most of the players were
nervous because it was the opening set," Lee said.

Coach Chang said he would prepare his team better for their
next match against Myanmar, by carefully observing Myanmar's
strategy.