Fired-up China shut out defending two-time VNL champions USA on the closing day of pool play at the 2021 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy on Sunday, but the result was of no consequence, with the Americans already assured of first place in the standings and the reigning Olympic champions out of contention for a semifinals ticket.
China pulled off a stunning straight-set 25-10, 25-20, 25-17 victory over the USA to claim their 10th and last win at this year’s VNL, giving the rivals the first loss in the top-flight tournament.
Zhu Ting topscored with 16 points for China, while Zhang Changning added 13 and Yan Ni and Gong Xiangyu handed the team 12 apiece. Andrea Drews led the USA with 11 points.
Foluke Akinradewo of the USA said at the virtual Mixed Zone: “It’s a really disappointing loss. China had their A-team there, they are a very strong team. I think it’s always good for us to be pushed, it’s always good to face some difficulties, I’m hoping that we can reflect on this and we will come stronger next time. A lot of lessons to be learnt from this game, but the biggest is focusing on our side. There are some plays where China is exceptionally strong and they challenged us, doing some amazing things, but at the same time there are some other plays where we can make some easy plays, being engaged all the time and I think that’s something that we can improve as the tournament continues.”
China’s Ding Xia said: “Today we won this battle against the USA, although it was our last game at the VNL. We enjoyed a high-level performance today and we are really happy about it. I think that in this game every player improved and therefore we won this match by team effort.”
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