News 23/09/2019 China reign in clash of unbeaten teams in Women’s World Cup Sapporo and Toyama, Japan, September 23, 2019 – Zhu Ting dropped 23 points as China turned a clash of unbeaten teams into a lopsided affair, beating the United States 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) in the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup on Monday.The Chinese captain came up with an overwhelming performance, converting 17 points from the attack line and deflecting five of her opponent’s attacks. Zhang Changning and Yuan Xinyue added to the Chinese effort with 13 and 10 points, respectively.On the other side of the net, USA relied on the offence of Karsta Lowe and Jordan Larson, who were kept in check by the Chinese and only scored 10 and nine markers, respectively.China dominated USA and had a 43-38 advantage in kills, an 11-6 edge in blocks and a 5-1 lead in service aces.“Our captain is the core of the team – a central figure and leader that unites the team. She gives words of encouragement and conveys the plan of the coaching staff to the other members of the team, and Zhu Ting does that well,” China coach Lang Ping said.“We made a lot of preparations for this match against the United States based on how they played in other tournaments,” Zhang said. “I’m glad that our preparation worked out well today.“We did great in serving because they played a fast game, so putting pressure on our serve gave them a lot of trouble.”Earlier in the day and after their loss to China on Sunday, Brazil bounced back with a 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22) win against the Dominican Republic. The South Americans played a solid game against their rivals and managed to protect their lead whenever the North American side attempted to get back into the match.In the fourth set, the Dominicans continued to fight hard against the 2019 Volleyball Nations League runners-up, but got into trouble when their main player Prisilla Rivera had to be substituted, hurting her fingers after a defensive play. Her teammates worked doubly hard to catch up but a spike from Brazil’s Gabi Guimaraes sealed the victory for the Brazilians.In the third match in Sapporo, Japan recorded a straight-set 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-00) win over Kenya as Sarina Koga delivered a strong performance coming off the bench. Koga led Japan with 13 points with Miwako Osanai scoring another 12.In Toyama, the Netherlands earned back-to-back wins, following their 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23) victory over Korea to improve their record to five wins and two losses.The Dutch team have shown great focus in their last two performances after a tough 3-2 loss to Serbia in Hamamatsu.“We talked about that a lot especially after the match against Serbia,” Netherlands coach Jamie Morrison said about the importance of maintaining mental toughness to endure a long tournament like the World Cup. “Our players have never played this tournament, while this is my fourth. I’d say this tournament is as much of a mental grind as it is physical.“We have to wake up every single day, go to get the scouting report, the teams has to get ready. It’s not always the best team in the world that you’re playing, so it’s hard to get emotionally high. We have to travel from city to city and to top it off, we have matches at 11:00. Those aren’t easy. So all these things start to take away energy. We’re trying to manage the load physically and mentally. You saw a different line-up yesterday and today, trying to conserve a little bit of energy for the last push in this tournament.”In the day's other encounters, the Serbians improved their record to 4-3 after going all-out against Cameroon to win in straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-17), while Russia continued with their good run in the World Cup, picking up their sixth win after their 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-21) triumph against Argentina.Quick links - Volleyball:FIVB Volleyball Women's World CupFacebookTwitterInstagramYoutube Print this Page News {{item.LocalShortDate}} {{item.Title}} All the News