Qingyao steers China to win first home game

Xuancheng, China, July 1,2016—China delighted their home fans as they posted a straight-set (25-19, 25-18, 25-22) win over their European rivals Slovakia at the FIVB Volleyball World League on Friday benefiting from match-high 18 points scored by Dai Qingyao.

Best scorers in Slovakia’s losing effort were Peter Mlynarcik with 10 points and Matej Patak with 9 with the European side unable to deal with the quality at the net from China's Dai Qingdao, who once again showed his quality, offering another excellent World League Performance.



Set one found Slovakia open up a lead, however, China was not going to go down easily and closed Slovakia’s leads each time late in the set to jump out to an 16-14 lead at the second technical time out. China rode the energy of the crowd and controlled play in the second half of the set and cruised to a 25-19 win.

The home team found their rhythm at the second set and used the crowd energy to jump out to a 8-3 lead. The Asian team put on a strong performance in spikes to lead at 13-12, improving to 16-14 after the second technical time-out. Some late strong serves and thunderous attacks put Slovakia off balance and China took the set 25-18.

Set three was a very tight affair as no team could gain any significant advantage over long spell. Slovakia stayed with China early and trailed just one point at the first technical timeout. The teams traded points and the lead as the set progressed with ties. The set featured a handful of fun rallies and spectacular digs thrilling the audience. Determined to widen the gap, China pulled away to a 24-21 lead and managed to keep control of the game eventually finishing the set off 25-22.