China defeats Netherlands for second straight win in Volleyball Nations League

XI'AN, June 14 (Xinhua) -- China secured its second consecutive win at the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League Xi'an leg on Saturday, defeating world No. 14 the Netherlands 3-1.

The Netherlands had swept China 3-0 twice in their previous two VNL encounters. After dominating Serbia 3-0 on Thursday, the world's 20th-ranked China had a rest on Friday, while the Netherlands had a tough 3-1 win over Turkey the previous evening.

Netherlands head coach Joel Banks admitted before the clash that his team had limited time to recover. "We went back to the hotel late, and hopefully everyone could relax, but it was 1:30 a.m., we were still working with physio," he said.

Both teams started strong in the opening set, but a string of unforced errors from the Netherlands handed China nine free points. China, by contrast, committed only one error and delivered four aces, ultimately taking the first set 25-19.

The host quickly built a 17-12 lead in the second set and secured it 25-20. The Netherlands responded in the third set, surging ahead after an 8-8 tie with a 10-2 run, and claimed the set 25-13.

In the fourth set, China's Li Yongzhen provided four crucial blocks, helping his team close out the set 25-17. Following the victory, China's world ranking rose 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. 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," said China head coach Vital Heynen.

"I didn't get many blocks at the start, but after the third set, the coach adjusted our tactics, which proved very effective," said Li, who led China with 13 points.

"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," he added.

China takes on Turkey on Sunday, while the Netherlands meets Japan, and Poland faces Serbia. ■