Players of China block a spike in the match against South Korea at the Asian Volleyball Confederation Women's Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, the Philippines, August 21, 2022. /CFP
China beat South Korea 3-0 (25-9, 25-8 and 25-9) in their first match at the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women's Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, the Philippines, on Sunday.
China sent a young franchise to the AVC event but still held great advantage over South Korea. They established a quick 8-3 lead before the first technical timeout. After the two teams came back to the court, Sun Haiping's serves enabled China to score 11 points in a row. The two timeouts South Korea called didn't save them from a big loss of 25-9 in this set.
China continued to punch hard and fast in the second set with blocks from Cao Tingting and spikes from Wu Mengjie to score five straight points, making South Korea call a timeout. As this set went on, China continued to vary their firepower while smothering their opponents with solid defense. Outside hitter Wang Yifan and libero Wu Xinyu were sent to the court when China led 18-6, but that didn't shake the team's dominance as they finished the second set 25-8.
Wu Mengjie (#23) of China spikes in the match against South Korea at the Asian Volleyball Confederation Women's Cup at PhilSports Arena in Pasig, the Philippines, August 21, 2022. /CFP
The third set started with Zhou Yetong and Zhuang Yushan helping China score nine consecutive points with their serves, helping the team lead 16-4 before the second technical timeout. With such a safe advantage in hands, the team kept giving young players opportunities to experience the competitions of international tournaments. Wang Wenhan, Xu Xiaoting and other rookies responded to coach Kuang Qi's trust by bringing an overwhelming 25-9 win to China for the final set.
China are playing against Vietnam in their second match at the AVC Women's Cup on August 22.