Cameroon's Abdoulkarim Fawziya spikes against Australia
Couva, Trinidad, July 15, 2017 – Christelle Tchoudjang Nana was the top scorer in the match as Cameroon beat Australia 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-19) in a Group 3 match in the FIVB World Grand Prix on Saturday.
Cameroon’s Nana outscored Australia’s Rachel Rourke 19-18 in the first meeting between these two teams in an official competition. Cameroon also had the edge in blocking (12-9), digging (35-16) and service aces (12-6). Substitute Laetitia Moma, who came on in the fourth set, contributed five huge aces in her six points.
Australia eased to a 25-19 win in the first set but lost their way after that, finding themselves 5-1 down early in the second. They did manage to close the scores to 19-21, but Cameroon had the toughness to see the set out. In the third, it was all-square at 6-6 before Cameroon left the Aussies behind, stretching their lead to 14-10, 17-10 and 21-12 before closing out the set for a 2-1 lead.
The Cameroonians didn’t have it quite so easy in the fourth set as Australia led by four points at 8-4. Cameroon were still losing at 15-17 but quickly flipped the scores to lead at 18-17. They were soon three points ahead and Australia had nothing left in the tank as Cameroon finished off the set 25-19.
With a 1-1 record, Cameroon will face host country Trinidad and Tobago (1-0) on Sunday in its final match, while Australia, without a win after two matches, face France.