Team China clinched their first victory at the men's 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) over hosts Brazil 25-23, 31-29, 25-23 on Sunday.

The Chinese squad rose by six places in world ranking after the victory to the 17th spot, while Brazil had to settle for the second place after Poland rose to the top by winning against France 3-1 in another group on the same day.

China's outside hitter Zhang Jingyin, 23, scored 25 points – a game high – including 22 kills, two aces and one block, demonstrating his potential to lead the team.

"This is a big victory for our team, it's very encouraging," outside hitter Yuan Dangyi said. "We entered the match determined to do our best but we knew Brazil were the No. 1 team in the world and very strong opponents."

"I think today we played better and that's why we won. Each of us was focused on our own roles and that was very important. We'd love to play Brazil again because they're so strong," he added.

Brazil's top scorer was Alan Souza who bagged 19 points, followed by Flavio Resende with 13 points.

In the first of three phases of the VNL preliminary round, the Chinese squad were placed with Team Iran, Team Japan, Team Slovakia, and hosts Brazil in the same group. 

They will face Team France, Team Germany, Team Argentina and Team Italy in the next phase from June 22 to 26.

The top seven teams from the preliminary round will enter the VNL finals in Bologna, Italy, from July 20 to 24.

(With input from Xinhua)