China were well in control of the first two sets and stormed to a convincing lead. With some changes in the line-up, Japan attempted a comeback by dominating set three and staying competitive through 21-21 in set four, but the home team stayed more concentrated in the money time of the set and celebrated a 3-1 (25-15, 25-12, 18-25, 25-22) victory, with 22-year-old outside hitter Wu Mengjie swinging for the match winner.
Unfortunately, upon landing after that kill, Wu dropped on the floor injured, but she was all smiles, when she was carried off from the court, obviously still happy about the victory and about her own performance, which brought in a match-high 24 points, including an impressive five of China’s 14 kill blocks in the match. Another three were authored by opposite and captain Gong Xiangyu, who also fired one of the team’s five serving aces to finish on a total of 16 points. The other 22-year-old outside Zhuang Yushan and middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
“We put a lot of importance in this match and we did a good job in blocking and defense,” Gong told VBTV. “We were forced in the fire, so we will make a lot of improvement.”
