Kobe, Japan, November 5, 2006 -- The Netherlands advanced to the second round of the World Championships after a nail-biting win over Kazakhstan, who were also looking to advance.

It was a must-win game for the Kazaks, who had a 1-3 record coming into the final day, but the Dutch (2-2) also needed to win.

In the end, the Netherlands took it by the tightest of margins, winning 25-18, 27-29, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13, putting them and Puerto Rico into the second round.

The Netherlands looked in good shape at the start of the match and streaked out to a 7-1 lead in the first set, but Kazakhstan crept back into the set and pulled the deficit back to two points at 18-16 thanks to some good spikes by Olga Grushko.

Yelena Pavlova, the top scorer in the championships, took some time to get into the match and the Kazaks relied on Grushko as its main weapon.

But it was errors that cost Kazakhstan the set, which ended when Grushko pushed a service long.

The Kazaks bounced back quickly in the second set forcing Netherlands coach Avital Selinger to call a timeout with the score at 0-4.

The Dutch started to force their way back and Manon Flier came up big to draw the scores level at 10-10.

But the Kazak team were starting to play well. Grushko and Olga Karpova were spiking well and Pavlova was finding her range. In a must-win match, the Kazak defense was also fairly intense and it was their defense that helped them to a four-point lead at the second TTO.

But then the Dutch forced their way back in thanks to some good defense and some clever soft shots by Caroline Wensink.

Chaine Staelens contributed a couple of decent spikes as the two teams reached parity at 20.

After that, they couldn't be separated. The Netherlands blew several chances to clinch the set before Kazakhstan took the initiative.

However, it was two errors that handed the Kazaks the set.

First, Riette Fledderus, usually the Netherlands' rock, handed Kazakhstan matchpoint with a service error.

Then, Staelens made a service receiving error to level the set score at 1-1.

The third set hinged on a blistering display of service midway through the set by the big-hitting Flier.

Taking the ball at 12-10, she fired in three aces as she advanced her team to an unassailable seven-point lead at 17-10.

Good work by Staelens protected that lead and she finished off the set by pushing the ball over the net after poor receiving by Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan took the initiative in the fourth set and led throughout - but not by much.

They managed to open up a four-point lead at 17-13 before the Dutch clawed their way back into the game, drawing to within in a point at 23-22.

But spikes from Olga Nassedkina and a huge hit from Olga Karpova sent the match into a tiebreak set.

Every point was huge from here on in and both teams played with real intensity.

Flier put her team ahead for good with some great defense and a solid spike at 6-6. Grushko was then blocked by Flier and Ingrid Visser before another decent spike hit the net and rolled wide.

Captain Pavlova tried to rally her team with a big spike that drew Kazakhstan to within a point at 13-12 before Wensink secured setpoint with a nicely placed crosscourt shot.

Fittingly Flier finished things off with a trademark smash that the desperate Kazaks were unable to handle.