Apeldoorn, Netherlands, Jul 7, 2017 - Sarina Koga scored 23 points, including 20 in attack, in Japan’s tiebreak win over Thailand in their first match of the 2017 FIVB Grand Prix on Friday.
Mari Horikawa added 21 points for Japan, while Pimpichaya Kokram and Ajcharaporn Kongyot scored 17 each for Thailand.
Each of the first three sets saw one team dominating the proceedings with Japan taking a 2-1 lead. In the fourth set, the closest of the match, Thailand came back from a few-point deficit late in the set to force a tiebreak. However, the fifth set saw Japan jump ahead early on and control the set from then on. They closed it out at 15-9.