China came from one set down to beat Cuba 3-1 and crown at the Shenzhou Cup China International Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Wang Yimei, 17, and Yang Hao scored 21 points apiece to lead the host to its fifth straight win at the seven-team tournament 25-27, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17. The 18-year-old Ma Yunwen added 12.
Cuba started strongly against the Olympic and World Cup double champion, jumping to a 7-2 lead in the opening set. The Chinese women pulled within 10-8, thanks to consecutive blocks by Ma Yunwen. The two teams exchanged runs before tying it at 24-all. A longservice by Aimi Ramirez gave China a 25-24 advantage before Nancy Carrillo had a dink and a kill in a row to help Cuba overtake the lead at 26-25. Then Wang Yimei drove a ball out to surrender the set.
China fought back in the second set. Wang Yimei had three kills, one block and an ace to lead a 10-4 run that pushed China up at 21-16, a gap that Cuba could never close. In the third set, the Chinese women used a 6-2 run to go up 24-19. Cuba beat off three set points, but China converted on thefourth as Wang forced her opponents to tip off the ball out of bounds.
The Cuban women, who lost to China 3-2 in the semi-finals of the Athens Olympics, became anxious and made more errors in the fourth set. China raced to a comfortable 16-9 lead and never looked back.
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