China defeats Canada in final week of Women's VNL

China has secured a spot in the Final Phase of the 2025 VNL tournament after beating Canada in the group stage.

ARLINGTON, United States, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The final week of the Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) group stage continued Friday in Arlington, Texas, where China defeated Canada 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-23) in a hard-fought encounter.

Zhuang Yushan paced China with 21 points, while Wu Mengjie and Gong Xiangyu chipped in 18 and 14, respectively.

Canada's attack was balanced, with Abagayle Guezen and Anna Smrek each scoring 14 points, while Emily Maglio and Andrea Mitrovic added 12 and 11.

The opening set was tightly contested, with Canada staying within striking distance before China's Gong delivered a spike to take it 25-22.

Trailing 10-8 early in the second set, Zhuang turned the tide with three straight heavy jump-serve aces, forcing a Canada timeout. Chen Houyu carried on the momentum with three spikes after Zhuang's serves continued to disturb the Canadian defense. China surged to a dominant 25-15 set win.

Canada produced its best volleyball in the third set, riding heavy swings from its quartet of scorers, gritty digs and timely blocks to claim it 25-22.

The fourth set became a nerve-jangling sprint to the finish. With a successful challenge, Canada narrowed the deficit to 24-23, but Wu's spike helped lift China at the last moment to seal the set 25-23 en route to a 3-1 win.

Head coach Zhao Yong praised his young squad's resilience and their ability to adjust to the match's ebb and flow.

The Final Phase of the 2025 VNL tournament will be held in Lodz, Poland from July 23 to 27. With 20 points from seven wins and three losses, China has secured its place in that competition with two matches to spare.

Earlier on Friday, the Dominican Republic swept Thailand 25-21, 25-18, 25-23. ■