Thailand went down to Poland 3-2 in their second match of week two of the 2022 Women's Volleyball Nations League at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines, on Thursday.
After beating Canada 3-0 in the opening match on Tuesday for their fifth win in this year's campaign, Thailand led by two sets before being edged out by the 11th-ranked Poland 22-25, 27-29, 25-16, 25-16, 15-13.
The Thai team, coached by by Danai Sriwatcharamethakul and led by captain and setter Pornpun Guedpard, were forced to call up five new players to the team after eight players tested positive for Covid-19.
The turning point for Thailand, who are ranked 14th in the world, came in the fourth set when they lost their top scorer Pimpichaya Kokram, who was injured during a point rally and was carried off.
However according to skipper Pornpun, Pimpichaya should be ready to face Japan today.
Pimpichaya had been a standout player for Thailand during the 2022 campaign. She is currently the tournament's best scorer with 131 points (118 attack, five block and eight serve points). She is also the best attackers.
Chatchu-on Moksri was the team's top scorer in the match with 26 points, followed by Pimpichaya, who had 13.
Olivia Rozanski led Poland with 20 points while Martina Czyrnianska had 18.
Today's match against Japan starts at 6pm and will be shown live on ONE31.
At press time, Thailand were fifth in the 16-team standings with 12 points from four wins. Japan are top with 14 points from five wins. The Japanese were due to play Bulgaria later last night.