China beats Serbia for second win in Women's Volleyball Nations League

Host nation China outclassed Serbia 3-0 in Nanjing on Saturday, marking its second victory in the new FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League season. The routine win came on the heels of a tough start, following a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic and a hard-fought 3-2 win over Thailand earlier in the week.

China claimed set victories of 25-21, 25-21, 25-21, with Zhuang Yushan and Tang Xin emerging as standout performers, as each contributed 14 points to help improve the home team's overall record to 2-1.

After trailing 8-3 in the first set, the Chinese squad mounted a steady comeback to tie the score at 13-13. Despite Serbia retaking the lead at 18-15, the host executed a spectacular 10-3 run to clinch the opener.

Maintaining the momentum in the second set, China jumped to a 7-4 advantage, bolstered by consecutive kills from Gong Xiangyu that resulted in a 15-9 lead. The Serbians continued to pose a challenge, responding with a 7-1 burst to force a 16-16 tie, before briefly grabbing the lead at 20-19.

Wang rallied the home side with three consecutive attacks, however, and Zhuang backed up her efforts with a well-timed kill, pushing China in front 23-20. Despite Serbia's attempts to close the gap after trimming the margin to 23-21, a powerful smash from Wang and a critical block by Zhang Zixuan helped the host wrap up the set 25-21.

In the third set, the Serbians initially took a 13-10, lead but were quickly overhauled by the Chinese ladies, who reeled off four consecutive points to snatch a 14-13 edge, ultimately closing out the set 25-21 again to complete the 3-0 sweep.