Hong Kong, China, June 6, 2019 – Rio Olympic champions China overcame a slow start for an epic hard-fought five-set 18-25 22-25 25-23 26-24 15-13 win against world No.8 Italy under the great applause of the home crowd in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Zhu Ting chipped in with 26 points for China, while Paola Ogechi Egonu scored a match-high 40 points for the losing side.
China team head coach Lang Ping said: “It was a wonderful match. In the first two sets, we did not perform well in the first pass and blocking. However, starting from the third set, we had better reception. Italy is a strong team, we will go back and reflect in order to improve ourselves. Lastly, I would like to thank the fans from Hong Kong for their encouragement and support.”
China captain Zhu Ting said: “I am very thankful to my team and the fans. We are happy with the victory and we will work hard to improve.”
Italy head coach Davide Mazzanti said: “Congratulations to China. It was an amazing match. I feel upset for Italy but our team have already had good performances. At this moment, Team China is better than Team Italy. However, I am happy and satisfied with our team’s match tonight. It is a good start for this season.”
Italy captain Cristina Chirichella said: “We did lose a few critical points in the match today. We will perform better next time.”
Related links of AVC
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: https://twitter.com/avcvolley
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation