VakifBank Istanbul vs Hisamitsu Springs Kobe. INQUIRER PHOTO/Sherwin Vardeleon
VakifBank Istanbul easily imposed its will on Hisamitsu Springs Kobe early, ending each of the two periods with a 10-point advantage.
But the third set proved tricky for the Turks as Hisamitsu Springs mounted a comeback and managed to get a 31-29 advantage.
Fortunately for the 2013 World Champions, they found their composure and banked on their impressive defense for their first win in the opener of the 2016 FIVB Women’s Club World Championship at Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: VakifBank opens FIVB WCWC bid with win over Hisamitsu
“We did a better job with our blocks, because in the fourth set we had better block outs and we reduced our mistakes and that was the key point,” said setter Naz Aydemir Akyol after their 25-15, 25-15, 31-29, 25-18 win.
VakifBank finished the match with 27 blocks and limited its errors to 13 while enjoying 24 free points from the Kobe-based team from Japan.
“I think we did a pretty good job,” said Aydemir Akyol, who is wary of their next opponent, 2015 third-placers Volero Zurich. “But if we keep doing these errors against Zurich we will have a tough day.”