The Asians dropped a set, but earned their second victory in the tournament and are guaranteed in the Round of 16
China’s Wang Yuanyuan and Gong Xiangyu go up to stop Colombia’s leading scorer Ana Karina Olaya
China repeated the script of their 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship debut in their second Pool F match in the tournament, unexpectedly dropping a set to Colombia on Monday, but got the job done in four and secured a spot in the tournament’s Round of 16.
Playing in Chiang Mai, the Asians saw the South Americans fight back and level things after their first-set victory, but came back stronger and dominated sets three and four to triumph 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16) and advance to the elimination rounds.
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Earlier on Monday, the Dominican Republic triumphed in the NORCECA Derby against Mexico, winning 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-20). With that, Chinese and Dominicans got to six points and secured the two spots in the Round of 16 while Colombians and Mexicans continue pointless and are out of the race.
Outside hitter Zhuang Yushan was China’s most consistent offensive player throughout the match, leading the Asians with 17 points (12 kills, five blocks). Captain and opposite Gong Xiangyu also played a major role in their victory, tallying 15 points (13 kills, two blocks).
“After losing the second set, the most important thing for us was to put that behind us and keep our energy for the upcoming sets,” Zhuang said. “I’m very happy that we qualified for the elimination rounds. These first two matches were not easy for us, and we’ll try to raise our level going forward.”
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Despite the defeat, Colombia had the match’s top scorer in outside hitter Ana Karina Olaya, who left the court with 21 points (19 kills, one block, one ace). Outside hitter Laura Pascua, with 14 points (12 kills, two aces), and opposite Dayana Segovia, with 12 (ten kills, two blocks), also had solid shifts.
“We feel better today because our first game wasn’t good,” setter María Alejandra Marín commented. “I think we have a really good team and that we could do better than we did against the Dominican Republic. We’re enjoying here and now we need to focus on our last match against Mexico. We have an opportunity to win that match and we want to do it.”
Colombia’s errors were too much for them to endure as the South Americans gave up 28 points to China’s 11. The Asians were better in kills (56 to 50) and blocks (12 to seven), while the South Americans had the most aces (three to two).
2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship: full schedule and results
Pool F will complete its schedule in Chiang Mai on Wednesday, with Colombia and Mexico playing for their first victory at 16:00 local time (9:00 GMT) and China and the Dominican Republic battling for first place at 19:30 (12:30 GMT).
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