The Chinese women's volleyball team suffered their third straight loss at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, losing to the Russian Olympic Committee 2-3 (17-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-27, 12-15) in a preliminary match.

Team China's young star Li Yingying bagged a team-high 27 points, just one point shy of game-high scorer Arina Fedorovtseva.

Chinese super spiker Zhu Ting, who suffered a wrist injury before the tournament, still managed to exhibit her rich experience as she contributed 17 points for the team.

Having lost to Team Turkey, Team USA, and the Russian Olympic Committee consecutively, the Chinese side currently rank second to last in Group B with two more matches to play, with their Olympic hopes fading in Tokyo as they have to finish top four in the group of six to proceed to the knockout stage.

The reigning champions brought much hope to their fans as they took the second and third sets, leading up to an intense fourth set that saw the Chinese squad on fire, winning the match point 24-23. After a spike outside of the court and a counter-attack by Natalia Goncharova, the momentum swung to the other side of the net, leading to a downward spiral for the Chinese squad and their fans. 

The Chinese women will next play Italy on Saturday, then against Argentina on Monday.