China revitalized their Volleyball Women's World Championship campaign as the Asian powerhouse return to winning ways with a convincing 3-0 win over a listless Puerto Rican side in their Phase 2 opener in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 

Cai Bin's side suffered their first defeat since the start of the tournament in their last outing, falling to a 3-1 loss to Brazil. But they bounced back in style on Wednesday night, hammering their opponents in straight sets. 

The alarmingly higher number of errors made by Puerto Rico was the main difference between the two teams, and China, who finished top of the pool on a 4-1 win-loss record in Phase 1, outplayed their Caribbean counterparts emphatically in every scoring element of the game. 

Chinese talisman Li Yingying led her side with 15 points, including 11 spikes, while Gong Xiangyu and Wang Yulu also racked up double-digit scores. Puerto Rico only had one player in Brittany Abercrombie who could achieve a double-digit points tally. 

While China's title push gathered momentum following the comprehensive victory, sterner tests lie just around the corner. Their next three matches against Netherlands, Italy and Belgium will prove just how realistic their challenge is. 

Earlier in the day, reigning Olympic champions the United States were stunned 3-0 by Poland, who registered their biggest win in recent years after beating the Americans in a major international tournament for the first time in 12 years.

Roared on by the home crowd in Lodz, Poland's 21-year-old sensation Magdalena Stysiak shone through the encounter, smashing a match-high 19 points with 16 kills and three blocks. 

"I think today we surprised even ourselves a little bit," beamed Pole captain Joanna Wolosz. "We played amazing, I think we were very free on the court. After letting some opportunities slip away against Serbia on Tuesday, we just wanted to enjoy the match as much as we could today." 

"Looking at the tournament, this victory doesn't assure us of anything, but beating the Olympic champions is for sure a big deal," she added. "It may take several years for it to happen again and this is a very special result for this group.  

"It makes us believe that if we are able to keep this same spirit and continue having fun, we can achieve a lot. And to have done it in front of our fans … I'm sure this is a match we'll remember for a long time." 

After the dust settled, Serbia become the only undefeated team at this point of the tournament after routing Dominican Republic 3-0 on Wednesday. The defending champions will return to the court and face Thailand on Friday, while the U.S. will look to get back on track in a showdown with Türkiye.