The opening day of the inaugural Women's Volleyball  Nations League saw hosts China defeat the Dominican Republic 3-0 in Pool Two in Ningbo City. 18-year-old Li Yingying made strong debut with match-high 17 points, and led China to a 25-17, 25-15, and 25-11 straight set win.

Both squads introduced several new players to their rotations, including the home country's 18-year-old spiker, Li Yingying, the U21 champion from last year's China's National Games.

The Dominican Republic hoped the attacking abilities of Brayelin and Jineiry Martinez could offset the absence of defensive standout Brenda Castillo, but China's Li countered with a huge block in the first set.

With the opening frame tied at 6, setter Ding Xia went for a quick tap-over to put the home side back in control.

The PRC then turned to Li, and she extended their lead to three. On set point, Yang Fangxu gave the Chinese the frame 25-17.

The Dominican Republic got off to another slow start in the second, and when Brayelin's swing went out of bounds, they found themselves trailing 4-0.

China would add to their advantage from there, and Gaila Gonzalez's free ball gave the hosts a chance to go to Li, who employed finesse to find the center of the court. The PRC took the second 25-15.

The Chinese dominated the third set as well and, on match point, Liu Xiaotong pounded the ball off the block to wrap it up 25-11.

"This is a whole new team, with both younger and more experienced players working together for the first time. We took our opponents very seriously, and we fought hard for every point. This is my first time representing China, so I feel both nervous and very excited. Wearing the national uniform makes me feel really proud. This result is better than I expected because every time I shouted after each point, I immersed myself completely into the competition, and gave my all," Li said after the match.

"They exceeded my expectations in this match. We played good defense with accurate blocking. But I think our opponents still have jet lag, and this was not their best performance, so I hope we will have more exciting matches to come," coach Lang Ping said after the match.

China will face Belgium this evening.