Jiangmen, China, December 25, 2021 – Reigning champions Tianjin Bohai Bank, spearheaded by left-hander Li Yingying and powerful Melissa Vargas, swept last season’s finalists Jiangsu 3-0 to improve their perfect record to 12-0 in the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Super League here on Saturday.
Tianjin maintained the lead all the way, scoring excellent blocks frequently to clinch the first set with ease 25-12. In the second set, Jiangsu changed the offensive rhythm and came up with more aggression. However, Vargas began to exert force for Tianjin, unleashing continuous heavy attacks to help the team win the set 25-19.
In the third set, Jiangsu fielded a number of young players to the court. Although it caused a certain impact to the much stronger rivals, Tianjin still played well to capture the third set 25-18 and 3-0 match.
Melissa scored a game-high of 22 points for Tianjin, and star spiker Li Yingying added 10.
In the second match between Guangdong and Shanghai, the latter obviously performed well in defense, while the former failed to stage effective counterattack. Shanghai went on their excellent attacks to win the comfortable encounter 25-13, 25-13, 25-14.
Gao Yi scored a match-high 18 points for Shanghai.
In the last match, Liaoning claimed a crucial 3-0 victory over Shandong on Saturday to secure a semifinal berth with one round remaining.
Liaoning took the lead in the first set against Shandong. The higher block success rate helped the team lead the way, and Liaoning took the set 25-19. The second set saw Duan Fang and Shi Bingtong perform bravely with an impressive combination to bag the thrilling battle 25-20 for a commanding 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Ding Xia’s high-efficiency series kept Liaoning going strong. Although Shandong had a high turnover rate and bounced back with attacks, Liaoning remained in fine form to claim the hotly-contested set 27-25.
Liaoning sit tight on fourth on a win-loss record of 10-2, as 14 teams are competing in the league’s round robin preliminaries with top four finishers qualifying for the semis.
Duan Fang led Liaoning with 19 points from 16 kills, two blocks and an ace, while Shandong’s top scorer of the game Che Wenhan just got 12.
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