PHILSPORTS Arena – China defeated Iran, 24-26, 25-19, 25-10, 25-13, to complete a sweep of Pool A in the 2022 PNVF AVC Cup for Women on Thursday night at the designated venue of the cup in Pasig City. Iran had fallen in the first set. 

With a 4 – 0 win – loss record heading into the quarterfinals thanks to the victory, China took the top slot in the group, while Iran dropped to 1 – 3 and now awaits the outcome of the match between the Philippines and South Korea.

With Wang Yifan, the captain and outside hitter, taking advantage of how the setter Xu Xiaoting had opened up the front line’s offensive options, the defending champions gradually built a sizable fourth – set lead. When the Chinese head coach Kuang Qi finally ran out of options, these guys came through to seal the victory in the fourth.

Wang scored a game high 25 points on 23 assaults and two service aces, and Wang Wenhan added another 13 points on 12 spikes and one ace. 

In the opening set, Iran and China engaged in a battle as the latter coughed up multiple errors, particularly from the service line. This was exploited by the West Asian team, who eventually won the lengthy opening set by a score of 26 – 24.

The Chinese game strategist  Kuang changed his team’s composition in the second set, and the risk paid off as setter Xu and skipper Wang delivered the decisive plays in both this and the subsequent sets. As she opened up Iran’s block, Xu began to switch up her offensive strategies and activated her middles Wang and Hu Mingyuan, leaving some room for her wing spikers to operate.

While Xu had three markers, including two service aces in the last set, Zhang Yushan contributed 12 markers, all of which came from attacks. Zhang Yushan also contributed some energy to defense. 

Elahe Poor Saleh Shahdehsari led her team with 13 points and was sorely missed during Iran’s thrashing in the third set. Eight markers were placed by Aytak Salamatgharamaleki, all of which came from attacks. 

At 11 AM PST., China will play Australia in the quarterfinal round. still at the same Pasig (Philsports Arena) location on Saturday. The Philippines and South Korea, who will compete in the match in pool play this evening, will decide the fate of Iran, on the other hand.

Scores per set are as follows:

First set 24 – 26

Second set 25 – 19

Third set 25 – 10

Final set 25 – 13

Win goes to China.