The Asians were down twice, but came back to beat Italy and take gold in Mexico
The Chinese team celebrate their victory in Leon
After six years, China are back at the top of the podium at the youth level as the country’s national team triumphed at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship in Leon and Aguascalientes, Mexico, on Saturday.
The Asians came back twice in the gold medal match to defeat Italy 3-2 (19-25, 25-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8) in Leon and take the title. Brazil finished third in the event.
The tournament matches are available on the Volleyball World YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP6XfjHFR4I
The Chinese resilience was in full display since the opening day of the tournament as, after dropping their first match in Mexico in straight sets to Serbia, the Asians never looked back, winning their next seven matches to end the week in first place – they also won three-straight tie-breakers during the elimination rounds.
The first U21 world champions among the women, the Chinese returned to the top of the podium at an Age Group World Championship for the first time since 2017, when the nation’s U20 team took its third title, following victories in 1995 and 2013.
“It was a very tough match and we had to deal with a lot of pressure to take the title,” Chinese head coach Kuang Qi reflected. “We’re not better than Italy, but we are the champions.”
Against Italy, China relied once again on their strong outside hitter duo to triumph. While team captain Yushan Zhuang topped all scorers with 23 points (21 kills, two blocks), Xin Tang added another 17, with 13 kills, three aces and one block.
China’s Ziyue Wan had a 15-point performance in the gold medal match
Outside hitter Stella Nervini was Italy’s most reliable scorer with 21 points (20 kills, one block), while opposite Anna Adelusi, who was on and off the court during the final, registered 13 (12 kills, one block).
China’s higher efficiency in blocking (14 points to Italy’s seven) and from the service line (five aces to two) proved instrumental for their victory as the points scored in these skills helped the Asians offset the Italian offensive superiority (69 kills to 59). The champions also gave up fewer points in errors (25 to 29) in the final.
“We’re very happy,” commented setter Yalun Zhao. “I honestly didn’t think we could beat Italy, but we did it and we’re super excited.”
**2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship: Results**
In the bronze medal match, Brazil secured their spot on the podium with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-14) victory over Japan. Six-time world champions in the U21 Age Group, the South Americans returned to the podium for the first time since 2015, when they took one of their five silvers.
Outside hitter Helena Wenk led the Brazilian victory with 15 points (ten kills, five blocks), followed by middle blocker Juliana Gandra, who produced 14 (12 kills, two blocks). Outside hitter Amika Saiki was Japan’s leading scorer with 11 points (nine kills, two blocks).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLBT4ef1bBI
Türkiye finished fifth following a 3-1 (26-28, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18) victory over the United States while Serbia came back to take hosts Mexico down 3-2 (19-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-13, 16-14) and rank seventh in a pair of matches held in Leon.
In Aguascalientes, Argentina guaranteed a ninth-place finish with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-23) sweep of the Netherlands. Poland ranked 11th after their 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20) victory over Cuba.
Earlier, Egypt swept the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-14) to rank 13th and Thailand picked up a 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-20) victory over Tunisia to claim 15th place.
Captain Zhuang leads China to gold with MVP award
The tournament’s top scorer, the outside hitter delivered 23 points in the final against Italy
Zhuang has been huge for China since the start of their campaign
The captain of the Chinese national team at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship, Yushan Zhuang led the Asians to the title in more than one way.
Besides contributing to the team’s success on the court with her leadership, the 20-year-old outside hitter also had a big role in the team’s victory with her spectacular performances during the tournament held in Leon and Aguascalientes, Mexico, which earned her the event’s Most Valuable Player award.
The tournament matches are available on the Volleyball World YouTube channel.
A player of Chinese club Fujian Anxi Tiekuanyin, Zhuang was selected for the tournament’s Dream Team, joining a pair of teammates, three players from runners-up Italy and one from third-placed Brazil.
“The gold medal match was very difficult, I felt that both teams were at the same level, but maybe we were a little bit better on the tie-breaker,” Zhuang commented. “I’m so happy and excited. I was surprised to win the MVP award. It’s really encouraging to be selected as the best player in the tournament and it will give me more motivation to keep pushing.”
Zhuang was very involved in the Chinese success in Mexico
Most Valuable Player: Yushan Zhuang (China)
Best Setter: Valentina Bartolucci (Italy)
Best Opposite: Anna Adelusi (Italy)
Best Outside Hitters: Yushan Zhuang (China) and Stella Nervini (Italy)
Best Middle Blockers: Ziyue Wan (China) and Luzia Nezzo (Brazil)
Best Libero: Xingchen Zhu (China)
Zhuang tied Serbia’s Una Vajagic as the tournament’s top scorer, ending her participation in U21 World Championship with 137 points (126 kills, six blocks and five aces). She was China’s top scorer in six of the team’s eight matches in the tournament and scored 20 or more points on three occasions, saving her best performance for the most critical moment of the event, helping the Chinese top Italy in the gold medal match with an impressive 23 points.
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