LI AND CHINA OVERPOWER TURKEY – Asian Volleyball Confederation

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Macau, Macau, Jul 15, 2017 – 22 points from Jing Li propelled China to a four-set victory over Turkey in the FIVB World Grand Prix on Saturday.

Xinyue Yuan added 19 points for the winning side with Meliha Ismailoglu scoring 17 for Turkey.

The Turkish gained dominance over the Chinese during the first half of the opening set (13-8), but the Chinese adjusted their play and caught up with a tie (14-14). China progressed with minor leads after a block by Yuan. X.Y. and a two-point attack by Ding X.. Coach An substituted Zhu T. in and secured China’s first set (23-25). The second set saw a good start for team China, but they gave away points in serving and blocking errors. Turkey won the second set (25-19).

Turkey had a three-point advantage at the start of the following set, but China had no intentions of giving up, Zhu T. and Yuan X.Y. were keen on their attacks and blocks, resulting in a (8-9) reverse. The Chinese extended their lead with Qian J.W. serving two consecutive aces (12-15). The Chinese made their way to the end of the set with a tight score (25-23).

The Chinese led a minor score difference throughout the fourth set, Turkey’s Durul and Ismailoglu finally sought a tie against the Chinese after an ace serve and a diagonal spike down the line. China’s star of the set Yuan X.Y. scored multiple points at the net due to Turkey’s poor reception (18-21). The Chinese owned the fourth set with Zhu T. winning the very last point of the game (23-25).

An Jiajie, coach of China: “I am delighted with this win today. With Giovanni (Guidetti) as the new head coach, Turkey have improved tremendously with their tactical play and today they gave us a lot of difficulties especially in blocking and attack. I would like to compliment Li Jing’s attacking play today and also the way that we adjust from yesterday’s loss. However, there were still too many ups and downs throughout the match, especially in the second and the fourth set, and I feel we could improve further with more consistency in our play.”

Zhu Ting, captain of China: “We fought hard to win this match, and comparing to yesterday I think we did a better job at executing the key points and controlling our emotion. Turkey gave us a lot of pressure with their blocking and defense and we have enjoyed a good game against them.”

Giovanni Guidetti, coach of Turkey: “Congratulations to China, they made fewer mistakes than we did. I am very proud of my team because we made a big step forward today by fighting till the end. We have found a lot of solutions to our game which we did not find yesterday. I am happy that our young team is able to match the level of play of China. It is a pity that we also made many unforced errors but for sure we can take away many positives from this match.”

Fatma Yildirim, captain of Turkey: “The crowd has been amazing and we have always enjoyed our games against China, the reigning Olympic champions. I think as a team we did our best and I feel so proud of my teammates. I am sad that we lost, but also happy to have played such a close game with fighting spirit.”

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