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The Chinese Women's Volleyball team, Athens 2004 champion, has reached the Olympic podium again, beating Cuba 25-16, 21-25, 25-13, 25-20 to win bronze in Beijing.
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The Cuban spikers came back to life in the second set to establish an early led 9-4 with quick spikes of Nancy Carrillo and Yanelis Santos. China strived to catch up before a 17-all, when Carrillo and another high jumper Rosir Calderon broke the tie and crushed China's attempts to bounce back with attacks from the left flank and the middle court, 24-21 in favor of Cuba.
Veteran captain Yumilka Ruiz sealed the set 25-21 with an unanswered spike.
China staged a brilliant attacking wave from the start of the following set with a 8-4 lead and extended the winning momentum to take the set 25-13.
China took an early lead 10-5 and 15-10 in the fourth set, when Cuba surged back 20-21 with the astonishing performance of its wing hitter Calderon. But that was the furthest they could go. China clinched the meaning victory 25-20 with a spike of middle blocker Zhao Ruirui.
Later on Saturday night, Brazil, who sailed into final without losing a single set, will fight for their first-ever Olympic gold against the United States. The latter, led by China-born head coach Lang Ping, made their historic return to the gold medal match in 24 years after toppling Cuba 3-0.