Thailand to take on tough Turkey on Thursday

Thailand to take on tough Turkey on Thursday

Thailand players pose before the game against the Netherlands at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night.
Thailand players pose before the game against the Netherlands at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Thai women will take on Turkey in the second match of the final week of the 2023 Volleyball Nations League preliminary phase at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium on Thursday night.

It will be another tough match for Danai Sriwacharamaytakul's team, who lost to the Netherlands 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-20) in the opening match of Pool 6 on Tuesday in front of a full house.

The loss against the Dutch was Thailand's seventh in the VNL 2023 campaign.

They only had two wins -- against Canada and South Korea -- in the first week of the tournament in Antalya, Turkey.

The Dutch, meanwhile, secured their third win in nine matches.

Outside hitter Jolien Knollema was a key player in the Dutch victory on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old, who is in her second VNL campaign with the Netherlands, tallied a match-high 15 points, with 12 kills, one ace and two blocks.

Outside hitter Chatchu-On Mokrsi was Thailand's top scorer with 13 points, all obtained in kills.

Thailand's match against Turkey will begin at 8.30pm and will be shown live on Channel 7.

In other Pool 6 matches on Thursday, Croatia and the Netherlands will face off at 1pm while Brazil will take on Canada at 5pm.

Channel 7 will also show the Brazil match live.

After Thursday, Thailand have two more matches in Pool 6. They will play Japan on Saturday and Brazil on Sunday. Both matches start at 8.30pm.

The preliminary phase features three weeks of competition, with each of the 16 teams playing 12 matches.

The top-eight teams after the preliminary round qualify for the final phase, which will be held in Arlington, Texas, in the US from July 12-16.

The Americans are already guaranteed a spot.

Thailand made history last year when they entered the top-eight tournament for the first time.

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