China beat Dominican Republic in FIVB Women’s Nations League

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01:32

China bounced back from two opening defeats at the latest stop of the FIVB Women's Nations League in Brasilia by getting past the Dominican Republic 3-1 on Thursday. However, the earlier losses to hosts Brazil and Russia mean their stay in South America has come to an end in the group stages.

Earlier, the Dominican side started stronger against a Chinese squad who were playing without a slew of their key players. At set point a long rally ended with captain Bethania de la Cruz landing a spike which was too hot to handle. The Caribbean girls took the first set 25-16.

Tied at 7-7 in the second, China started to come out of the traps more on attack with Yang Hanyu landing the killer blow to put them in the lead.

The DR ladies were plagued by unforced errors in the set and a resurgent China went into a 15-12 lead. The Chinese girls eventually sealed the set 25-23 thanks to a spike from Hu Mingyuan.

Buoyed by their comeback, the reigning Olympic champions then looked to take the lead in the third and Duan Feng put them 16-9 in front.

And when Marte's serve didn't clear the net at set point, China took the overall lead with a 25-23 win once more.

In the decisive 4th set, the Caribbean nation clawed their way back into the game and went ahead 16-12 with a block from Prisilla Rivera.

However, the game went down to the wire and the Chinese team sealed a victory after a display of fantastic athleticism from both sides. Wang Mengjie eventually finished the game as China polished off the set 25-23. However, their previous defeats mean the Asian powerhouse will bow out of the tournament early on.