"Coach Ott" has made a decision after the Thailand women's volleyball team lost to the USA in VNL 2026 Round 3, Match 1.
On 8 July 2026, Coach Ott Kiattipong Ratchatkriangkrai, head coach of the Thailand women's national volleyball team, spoke after the first match of Round 3 of the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL 2026) in Osaka, Japan.
The Thailand women's volleyball team, ranked 21st in the world, lost to the United States, ranked 4th, 0-3 sets (21-25, 18-25, 20-25). This leaves Thailand at 14th place on the VNL 2026 standings after 9 matches, with 2 wins, 7 losses, and 9 points. The USA remains top of the table with 23 points.
Coach Ott Kiattipong Ratchatkriangkrai explained the reasons for Thailand's loss to the USA today: "We prepared well and gave our best, but we have to accept and commend the Americans for playing at full strength."
"Everyone on their team tried to show 100% effort. We found their serving to be very effective and excellent. Their blocking is also a strong point. Their defense and attacking are very good, especially their serving."
"Their skills in all three scoring aspects were excellent, which caused many problems for our team. Our players fought hard, but today we played less in our system because their serving was strong and powerful. The ball didn’t come to our setter, making our style of play difficult to execute."
"However, the points we scored in sets 1 and 3 were good. We achieved success in many areas, so it wasn’t entirely bad."
Meanwhile, key setter Pornpann Kodprap was seriously ill and unable to play. Recently, the team urgently called up 17-year-old rising Thai-Ghanaian setter Sarah Ankomah to join the squad.
"It's unfortunate that our main setter was ill and couldn't play, so we only had one setter, Nattanan Jaesan, who couldn’t fully support the team."
"We now need to focus on the physical condition of all players. Overall, if no one is injured or ill, the physical condition is good. We must prepare fully for the next game."
"Playing against Japan will be tough. They have a solid playing style, especially in serving and receiving. Their defense is tenacious. We have to fight them in blocking and prepare well. We have about 24 hours to check the players' physical status."
"We must follow the medical team's plan. Initially, we may need to send players to the hospital for examination, provide medication, or IV fluids if necessary."
"The coaching staff has decided to call up another setter who will fly in tonight to ensure we have enough setters for competition. Sarah is expected to arrive tonight."
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