China secured a semifinal berth at the Women's Volleyball Nations League Finals after beating European traditional powerhouse Italy 3-1 on Friday in Nanjing City, east China's Jiangsu Province, despite Italian "heroine" Paola Ogechi Egonu scoring her fourth-best all-time high of 38 points during the match. 

China started the game in high spirit amid loud cheers from fans in a fully-packed stadium. After their whitewash defeat against Turkey a day earlier, Italy made some good moves against China but that wasn't enough to keep them alive in the competition.

The Chinese side managed an easy 25-17 victory in the first set. 

Italy strengthened their attack but China managed to hit back and led the second set till the end 25-22.

With two back-to-back wins in hand, China did not deliver a stable performance in the beginning of the third set, while Italy stepped up their defense and led the game 8-3. 

The two sides exchanged plenty of fireworks, but Italy clinched a 25-22 win in the third set.  

In the fourth set, China did not give any opportunity to Italy and ended the set 25-22.

Interestingly, in a strike contrast to the Chinese side, which comprised of all second-tier players, the Italian side included all senior players, except ace spiker Miryam Fatime Sylla.

Liu Xiaotong, captain of the China Women's Volleyball Team, reacted to the victory saying it would greatly boost the team's confidence. 

"We are very determined and united in achieving our goal, and our young players have shown their best skills. The result tells us that we can win over powerful teams. We are fortunate," Liu said after the match.  

China will face the U.S. in a semifinal clash on July 6, while Brazil will meet Turkey in another semifinal game the same day. 

Earlier on Friday, the U.S. thrashed Brazil 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21).