Pasig City, Philippines, August 25, 2022 – Title-holders China completed a sweep of their matches in Pool A of the preliminary round of the 2022 AVC Cup for Women after a 3-1 defeat (24-26, 25-19, 25-10, 25-13) of Iran.
Thursday’s match at the PhilSports Arena marked China’s fourth consecutive victory in the competition to leverage their stake for another championship trophy, to follow their titles in 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2018.
China captain Wang Yifan led all scorers on the field with 25 points (23 attacks and 2 service winners). Moreover, she helped spark China’s comeback after dropping the first set.
“Iran is a good team, and it was not easy to play against them and that’s why we prepared. We watched a lot of videos to observe how they move, how they play,” said Wang Yifan.
True enough, Iran started off the match with good service, sending off their opponents to slowed-down passing. They also managed their transitions well, playing patiently as they covered the floor. Elahe Poor Saleh Shahdehsari and Aytak Salamatgharamaleki delivered key attacks from the flanks.
Meanwhile, China’s backcourt looked rather slow and sluggish in the passing lanes. They were trying to utilize their reliable hitters Zhuang Yushan and Wu Mengjie, but they made numerous errors.
Later, China picked up their tempo and showed more fluid plays. They were distributing the sets more widely, working on combination plays as well. Wang Yifan played off the bench yet delivered the most points when and where most needed. They also activated the middle attack in Hu Mingyuan to help spark the team’s momentum toward victory in four sets.
As the top-ranked team in Pool A, China will face the lowest-ranked in Pool B in the quarterfinals, scheduled on Saturday, August 27, at the PhilSports Arena. Meanwhile, all participating teams will take a rest and recovery break on Friday while they await their respective match-ups for the next phase.
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