China into women's volleyball last four at Hangzhou Asiad

China's Ding Xia (L) and Yuan Xinyue compete in the match against South Korea at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

China beat South Korea in straight sets to enter the women's volleyball semifinals at the Hangzhou Asiad.

HANGZHOU, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China defeated South Korea in the women's volleyball Pool E to claim the second straight victory and book a spot in the semifinals at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Wednesday.

It only took the Chinese team 22 minutes to take the first set 25-12.

South Korea once built a four-point lead in the middle of the second set, but China notched four points in a row to erase the deficit and tie at 16-all, before Wu Mengjie and Yuan Xinyue combined to score three points to help China seal the set at 25-21.

The host team maintained the momentum in the third set, securing the victory at 25-16.

Chinese players celebrate during the match. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

Yuan took a game-high 12 points while Gong Xiangyu, Wang Yuanyuan and Li Yingying each grabbed 11 points. Kang Sohwi got South Korea's highest nine points.

"Although we met some tiny troubles on our receiving and attacking in the second set, but quickly we made some changes to solve them," said China's head coach Cai Bin.

Also in Pool E, Vietnam overcame DPR Korea 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22) to advance into the last four.

In Pool F, Japan and Thailand both secured their semifinal spots as Japan defeated Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-18, 25-21) and Thailand smashed Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-11). ■