With sweeping advantages in all grounds, China eased to a clean
victory over a second-string Russian team in the first match at the
President Cup women’s volleyball tournament.
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The brawny Russians only posed threats to visitors China in the
opening minutes and their lack of experience forced them to a quick
rout with 25-15, 25-12, 25-20 at home.
Many new faces were entrusted to start for China by head coach
Zhu Guanghu, who is on a move to rejuvenate the Olympic champions
aiming for a success at the Beijing Olympics next year.
China encountered uncompromising resistance from the hosts after
the match began. But after succeeding in holding back the rivals’
net play advantage, everything became smooth for the on-par
Chinese.
After wining the opener comfortably, the Chinese found it
difficult for the rivals to keep up with their pace due to
ineffective offensives. With a serve from Xu Yunli, China went to a
2-0 lead.
China risked a failure in the third game as the Russians played
all-out for counterattacks. But the wily Chinese resurged in time,
regaining control as the lead was cut to 16-14, and a spike from
Liu Yanan finally hammered the victory.
China’s next match is on Friday night against Holland.
(CRIENGLISH.com June 30, 2007)