The first set of the match was totally one-sided. With Dana Rettke owning the net in both offense and defense, the Americans stayed in control, opened up a wide gap and won it by a solid margin. A perfectly placed ace by opposite Jordan Thompson ended the set at a convincing 25-15. The second set was much more even and, although USA managed to gain a momentary four-point lead at 11-7, the home team fought back to catch up at 18-18 and even jump ahead with a 23-20 advantage. It was the Americans’ turn to catch up and they did so with three in a row. China reacted with two powerful kills by outside hitter Zhuang Yushan to close the set and level the match.
The third set was quite competitive through 13-13. After that, China started piling up the break points to open up a five-point gap at 21-16 and kept it through the end, which came at 25-20 on a long serve by Rettke. Four points in a row gave the USA a 13-9 advantage in set four and they never looked back. Dominating through the end of the set, the Americans widened the gap and closed the set at 25-17 to prompt a tie-breaker.
Twice in the fifth set, China had to come back from a three-point deficit. After 11-11, they took control of the scoreboard and finished the match off with a kill through the middle by 18-year-old Wang Aoqian for 15-13.
