Jiangmen, China, July 5, 2024 – Indomitable China overwhelmed Vietnam with their height and explosive power to brush off the unfancied opponents in a lopsided battle 25-14, 25-13, 25-12 in the last 8 stage at the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium on Friday.
China had three players reaching double digits in scoring, with middle blocker Chen Houyu, 193cm, delivering 17 points from 7 kills, 7 blocks and 3 aces. Dong Yuhan, 189cm, and Li Chenxuan, 187cm, contributed 13 and 10 points respectively. The Chinese also limited the rivals’ offense to the point that no Vietnamese player got to reach double digits in scoring against them. Outside hitter Bui Thi Anh Thao was the most productive player for Vietnam with 8 points, while middle blocker Le Thuy Linh and Le Nhu Anh claimed 5 points apiece.
The Chinese dominance was also visible in the match chart as the winners dominated in all elements comprising in kill s(44 to 25), blocks (11 to 2), aces (9 to 4), also benefitted from more opponent error (11 to 8).
China, current world champions and silver medallists at the previous edition in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan two years ago, fielded a tall and towering squad, 10 out of 12 players in their team stand up to 187cm tall, while Vietnam sent a young team with age average of 17 years.
China made a solid start in the first set with spectacular attacks from outside hitter Li Chenxuan and middle blocker Chen Houyu and scintillating blocks by Chen Houyu and Shan Linqian to jump to an early 7-3 lead, but Vietnam did not fear as they intensified defence and hit back with attacks and deceptive drops, forcing the Chinese to make unforced mistakes. The Vietnamese trailed close behind 7-10 and Chinese head coach Kuang Qi decided to replace Guo Xingling with Dong Yuhan. Dong proved an unstoppable force in the China’s lineup since then.
As Vietnam were trailing with eight points behind at 21-13, Bui Thi Anh Thao overcame the taller blockers with her aggressive spike to claim one last point for the team since shortly after that, China gained total control to score four points in a row for the set win 25-14.
The situation in the second set remained unchanged for Vietnam. They started well, but found the going gets tough after that. China roared back with mighty attacks and solid blocks to lead with seven-point clear at 16-9 and maintained their momentum to clinch the easy set 25-13.
The third set turned out to be one-way traffic. China showcased their prowess with swift counter-attacks and efficient blocks to lead 11-1 and extended it to 19-6. Dong Yuhan fired a fierce attack to widen the gap to 20-6 and moments later Vietnam scored three points in a row when the Chinese lost their touch to narrow the gap to 9-20.
Vietnam gained more confidence to score three more points including a fast spike from Le Thuy Linh on their last hurrah before China captured the set 25-12 and match.
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