A Chinese player spikes the ball in the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship match against Colombia in Arnhem, Netherlands, September 27, 2022. /CMG
A Chinese player spikes the ball in the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship match against Colombia in Arnhem, Netherlands, September 27, 2022. /CMG
China defeated Colombia 3-0 (26-16, 25-21, 25-13) to secure their second straight win at the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Arnhem, Netherlands, on Tuesday.
China's opposite hitter Gong Xiangyu, who missed the last match against Argentina on September 25 due to injury, came back and started on Tuesday.
China began the first set with a 6-1 lead after Li Yingying scored three consecutive points as well as solid blocks by her teammates. Colombia, which participated in the World Champion for the first time this year, managed to calm down and performed normally after calling timeout, but China always kept a safe lead of over three points.
Colombia called the second timeout after Wang Yunlu continued to hit from outside to score and extend China's lead to seven points (16-9). This time, Colombia failed to secure a foothold and saw their deficit grow to 10 points (23-13) before losing this set 25-16.
China (L) vs. Colombia in the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship match in Arnhem, Netherlands, September 27, 2022. /CMG
China (L) vs. Colombia in the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship match in Arnhem, Netherlands, September 27, 2022. /CMG
The second set was much closer as the two sides exchanged the lead multiple times. China scored four points in a row after the 14-14 draw on Li's heavy spike and Wang's serve. Though Colombia managed to cut the deficit to 23-20, Yuan Xinyue's lob and Li's spike from behind sealed the set for their team, gaining a 2-0 lead for China.
China played much more aggressively from the third set and Colombia were not ready for it. Having started with a 7-3 lead, Li, Diao Linyu and Yuan continued to score for their team, driving the lead all the way to 11 points (24-13). Though Colombia finally began to launch a counterstrike by scoring three straight points, it was too late and the deficit was too big for them to come back.
China will face one of their major opponents, Japan, on Wednesday.