Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 15, 2017 – China rallied from two sets down to take Argentina 4-2 (11-15, 13-15, 15-8, 15-11, 18-16, 16-14) here on Friday at Arena Stozice and stay in competition at the 2017 FIVB Women’s U23 World Championship where they will be competing at least for positions 5 to 8.
All matches in Ljubljana are played under a new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.
Ye Zin, who came on off the bench in the third set was decisive in turning the game as she emerged joint best scorer together with Yunlu Wang for China with 17 points each.
Sol Piccolo of Argentina was again top scorer of the game with 18 points, but it was just not enough.
Though China seemed to lack motivation today and Argentina played a passionate and highly entertaining game in their bid score their second win in the tournament, the Asian side were just that little bit more consistent and efficient.
Argentina missed a great opportunity to go 2-3 ahead when the led 11-13 in the fifth and then blew three set points before China brought it home after a great dig by libero Meizi Gong and a kill by Ye Jin.
Indeed, that set was exactly what China needed to secure at least one point that was enough to see them through to the next round.
China coach, Wu Sheng: “After five pool matches I actually see the improvement of my players. We got the opportunity to play against some of the best teams in the world, which made good results in the past. In general, I am satisfied with all five matches.”
China captain, Chen Long: “We didn’t do quite well in the first two sets, but the whole team didn’t give up. We remained focused and did very well in the second stage of the match. I think we made a big improvement in blocking and defence in our five matches so far.”
Argentina coach, Martin Perez: “I think it was a tough match. I think this was the match in which my players showed the most stability in the game. We only needed a point to close the match and to enter the second stage of the competition. China played very well.”
Argentina outside hitter, Irene Verasio: “I think the game was good. We started well, but China improved in the later stages of the match. But we are playing much better now than we did in the beginning, so I think this will help us to play ever better in the future.”
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