Dominican Republic shock Serbia and put world champs’ qualification at serious risk
After winning their first six matches in Volleyball Nations League 2023, but losing the next four in a row, China finally got back on the winning track with a 3-1 (25-13, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15) victory over hosts Korea in a Pool 5 game in Suwon on Saturday, which was enough for them to secure a spot in the Finals and join already qualified United States, Poland, Türkiye, Brazil and Germany. A few minutes later, defending champions Italy also qualified. China rose to fourth place in the current standings on a 7-4 win-loss record and 22 points. Bottom-placed Korea were happy to snatch a set from mighty China. It was only the third they won since the start of the competition.
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Chinese middle blocker Yuan Xinyue (four stuff blocks and an ace) and her Korean counterpart Kim Daeun (one ace) shared the top scorer honours of the all-Asian clash with 17 points each. Outside hitters Wang Yunlu and Li Yingying contributed 15 and 14, respectively, to their team’s victory.
In a completely one-sided first set, Wang Yunlu led the Chinese attack with six points, the last one of which came from an overpass kill for 25-13. The second started with a direct serving point by setter Diao Linyu, setting the tone for another four Chinese aces during the set. However, Korea recovered from an early 3-0 Chinese lead to catch up at 5-5 and stay competitive through 16-16, after which their opponents stepped in front for good. With two successful first-tempo attacks in a row by captain Yuan Xinyue, China closed the set at 25-21.
Inspired by the home fans on the stands, Korea kept up the fight and it paid off in the third set. With Kim Daeun and Kang Sohwi spearheading the attack, Korea vastly improved their spiking effort, recovered from the three-point deficit they had at 12-9 China’s way and took control until Kang Sohwi fired the 25-21 set winner. The story was about to repeat in the fourth set, when Korea once again came back from a three-point lag and even had the lead for a while. However, after 15-15, with Diao Linyu behind the serving line, China went on a smashing 10-point rampage, crowned by Gong Xiangyu’s monster block for the 25-15 match winner.
China’s captain Yuan Xinyue smiling
“In the beginning we were very close with the Korean team, but we did well in blocking and defence and that’s why we took the match. There were many difficult moments, but I’m happy that we could get through them,” said Yuan Xinyue after the game. “After four matches lost, we thought about the problems we were having and we tried to work on them. So I’m happy for this win. It’s very important for our team.”
Korea will have one more shot at pleasing the home crowd in Suwon with at least one win in this year’s VNL as they entertain table leaders Poland on Sunday at 14:00 local time (05:00 UTC). China’s last Preliminary Phase game will follow at 17:30 (08:30), when they face Finals hosts USA.
Dominican Republic continued to impress in Suwon. Earlier on Saturday, they scored their third consecutive win, this time edging reigning world champions Serbia by a hard-fought 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19, 15-10) to finish their participation in VNL 2023 on a 6-6 win-loss record and 14 points. The Dominicans played as many as six tie-breakers during the Preliminary Phase and managed to win five of them. They will not play at the Finals, but made that opportunity for Serbia look more like a distant dream than a probable outcome. Currently standing 11th on 5-6 and 17, the southern Europeans will have to win their last match against Bulgaria and rely on Japan losing both of their remaining games, keeping in mind that the Netherlands, currently 10th also on 5-6 and 17, but better set ratio than Serbia, and Canada, 12th on 5-6 and 16, are still in the race too. In this thrilling five-setter, Serbian Generation O star Tijana Boskovic produced the match high of 31 points, while three Dominican players reached 20+: Brayellin Martinez with 27, Gaila Gonzalez with 26 and Yonkaira Pena with 20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQmgPAazMeA&t=1s
Germany and United States will close the competition day in Suwon. Their match starts at 17:30 local time (08:30 UTC).
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