In a thrilling display of skill and strategy, China overcame the 14th-ranked Netherlands 3-1 in Xi'an to notch their second consecutive FIVB Men's Nations League victory.
Despite having lost 3-0 in their past two Nations League clashes with the Dutch, 20th-ranked China arrived in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province fresh off a 3-0 sweep of Serbia. The Netherlands, who battled to a 3-1 win over Türkiye on Friday, faced limited recovery time, as coach Joel Banks acknowledged late-night physio sessions had kept the squad busy until after 1:30 a.m.
The hosts set the tone early. In the opening set, China capitalized on nine Netherlands unforced errors, committed just one mistake of their own and fired four aces to claim a 25-19 win. They then built a 17-12 lead in the second set and closed it out 25-20.
The Netherlands roared back in the third, turning an 8-8 deadlock into a 10-2 run and cruising to a 25-13 set victory. But in the fourth, China’s centre blocker Li Yongzhen tallied four crucial blocks, helping the home side seal the set 25-17 and the match.
With this result, China’s world ranking climbed to 18th. “In the first two sets, we did very good spiking and serving, really bad blocking and defense, but amazingly, we made no mistakes in serving and spiking,” said China coach Vital Heynen. “The third set was just terrible. And it’s fantastic that we came back in the fourth set and played better in block and defense.”
Li, who led China with 13 points, added: “I didn’t get many blocks at the start, but after the third set, the coach adjusted our tactics, which proved very effective. This victory is the result of our unity. We fought for every point, whether we were leading or trailing. These two consecutive wins have greatly boosted our confidence.”
Next up, China will face Türkiye on Sunday, while the Netherlands take on Japan. The Nations League stop in Xi'an wraps up with Poland against Serbia.
Reference(s):
China beat Netherlands for back-to-back FIVB Men's Nations League wins
cgtn.com
