China outlast Bulgaria in five sets in FIVB Women's Nations League

China edged Bulgaria 3-2 in their second match at the FIVB Women's Nations League stop in south China's Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) on Thursday, securing their second straight win in the leg.

The Chinese side got off to a strong start, with each of their first four points coming off errors by the Bulgarians. Although China later made a few attacking mistakes, they stayed in front throughout the set. Wu Mengjie, who was in great form, closed out the opener 25-21.

China's players struggled at the start of the second set, repeatedly conceding points due to errors. After falling behind 7-1, the team saw the deficit grow to nine points at 11-2. Despite Wu playing a huge role in helping trim the margin, Bulgaria clinched the set 25-22 to level the match.

China bounced back in the third set, built a 9-6 advantage and extended it to 18-8, en route to grabbing the set 25-15. They had a chance to wrap up the contest in the fourth set, holding two match points while leading 24-22. The Bulgarians made good use of the opposing side's errors to score four points in a row, however, taking the set 26-24 to level the overall score again.

The Europeans continued their solid performance, opening the decider with a 5-2 lead. Wu then stepped up with a series of sharp attacks that helped China tie the score at 7-7, and later at 12-12. She then came up with a timely spike to save a match point, before converting three straight points, helping her side to clinch the decider 16-14 and win the match 3-2.

Wu stood out with a match-high 32 points to help China improve to two-for-two in this leg. They will face old rivals Japan on Saturday.