CHINA remained on course of winning a sixth Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women crown after cruising to a 25-13, 25-8, 25-8 victory over Australia Saturday at the PhilSports Arena.
Wu Mengjie pumped in 17 points, including four aces, while Zhou Yetong hammered 14 kills for the Chinese.
Zhuang Yushan dropped 10 of her 13 points in the second set where China imposed its will, while Wang Wenhan matched Zhuang’s two blocks to finish with nine points.
Vietnam, meanwhile, fashioned out a 19-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 15-10 win over Chinese Taipei to secure a berth in the semifinals.
Trailing 6-9, the Vietnamese turned to Tran Thi Thanh Thuy by scoring eight straight points to reach match point.
The Taiwanese saved a match point courtesy of fifth set substitute Chang Li-Wen, but the Southeast Asian side closed out the two-hour and 20-minute contest with Tran nailing a down the line hit.
The Chinese limited the Volleyroos to eight points in the second and third sets to dominate the 78-minute contest.
China, which improved to 5-0 highlighted by a four-match sweep of Pool A, will face the quarterfinals winner between Southeast Asian sides Thailand and Philippines in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“Everyone wants to win, that’s for sure. We are expecting us to play well every game. It’s not only just about victory,” said Chinese coach Kuang Qi through interpreter opposite spiker Li Xuemeng. “It’s more about playing well on the court and show everyone’s techniques that we
Australia will play either Philippines or Thailand in the consolation round at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Caitlyn Tipping had four kills before sitting out the third set, while Rebecca Redgen also tallied four points for Australia. Stef Weiler contributed three points for the Volleyroos.
Vietnam, which placed second in Pool B, advanced to semifinals for the second time in the tournament and will face the quarterfinals winner between Pool B winners Japan and Pool A’s No. 4 Iran at 7 p.m. Sunday.
“We will prepare,” said Tran, who scattered nine of her 25 points in the deciding set.
Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh produced five of the Vietnamese’s 15 blocks to finish with 22 points, while Nguyen Thi Trinh was the other player in double figures with 10 points.
Chen Tzu-Ya had four service aces for a 19-point effort while Wu Fang-Yu hammered 13 kills for Chinese-Taipei.
The Taiwanese will play on the loser of the quarters duel between the Japanese and the Iranians in the classification round for fifth and eight places at 10 am. today.