NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- China edged the United States 3-2 here Sunday at their first Pool H match of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, in five sets: 25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-9.
China swept the United States in straight sets earlier this week in the second round of the tournament, but the reigning champions brought more troubles for China in Sunday's match.
The United States built an early lead 4-1, and dominated most of the time in the first set. But after trailing 16-19, China turned the tide with four straight points, and after leading 23-22, sealed the victory with a spike by Zhu Ting and a block by Yan Ni.
In the following two sets, the United States, with fast attacks and spikes by Kimberly Hill, won 25-19 and 25-20.
In the fourth set, after a tight first half, Zhu Ting's serves put China ahead 17-12, but the United States soon caught up, and after a 22-22 tie, Li Yingying's spikes settled the set 25-23, bringing the game to a tie-breaker.
The fifth set saw China leading 6-4 after Zhu Ting's spike and Li Yingying's block, and the United States failed to turn the tide before China sealed the victory 15-9.
Captain Zhu Ting led her team with 25 points, while Yan Ni, Zhang Changning and Li Yingying also racked up double-digit scores.
"It was a great game. The United States were very fast. They gave us a good chance to learn and improve ourselves," said Chinese coach Lang Ping after the game.
"We still have one more Pool H game, and we need to be more focused," added Lang.
China will play the Netherlands on Tuesday and the top two of the Pool H teams will advance to the semifinals, along with the top two of the Pool G teams.
