China avoid upset with comeback win over Mexico

China turned things around and avoided what would have been a frustrating debut at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship by coming back to beat Mexico on Saturday in Chiang Mai.

The top-ranked team in Pool F, the Asians went down in the first set of their opening match, but showed strength to right the ship and walk away with a 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-10, 25-18) victory that earned them valuable three points in the tournament.

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Outside hitter Zhuang Yushan played a major role in the Chinese comeback, leading the team’s scoring efforts with a match-high 23 points (20 kills, two blocks, one ace). Fellow outside hitter Wu Mengjie also had a productive shift, amassing 19 points, with 14 kills, four blocks and one ace.

“It was the first match in the tournament and I thought we were a little tight at the beginning,” opposite Gong Xiangyu reflected. “We tried our best to handle the pressure and turn things around. We had some problems on the court today, and we’ll try to fix them for the next matches.”

On the Mexican side, opposite Sofia Maldonado was the stop scorer, with 22 points (21 kills, one block), followed by outside hitter Melanie Parra, who tallied ten, with nine kills and one ace.

“We all knew China were going to be tough opponents because they play very fast and are very tall,” outside hitter Samantha Bricio said. “We practiced very hard, and I think that showed in the first two sets. We still have a long way to go, but I think we did a good job today.”

China’s blocking power was a difference-maker in the match as the Asians got 12 points in that category against three of the Mexicans. The winners also prevailed in kills (55 to 50) and aces (four to two), besides making fewer errors (22 to 27).

Dominican Republic sweep Colombia

In the other match of the day in Pool F, the Dominican Republic also claimed three points, taking Colombia down with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-13) victory in Chiang Mai.

Team captain and outside hitter Brayelin Martínez led all scorers with 20 points (17 kills, three blocks), three more than opposite Gaila González, who got to 17 with 11 kills, four aces and two blocks.

On the Colombian side, outside hitter Ana Karina Olaya was the most productive, ending the match with 11 points, all obtained in kills.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship: full schedule and results

Monday will be the second day of matches for teams in the pool and will have two more duels, with the Dominicans meeting continental rivals Mexico at 16:00 local time (9:00 GMT) and China playing against Colombia at 19:30 (12:30 GMT).

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