China edges Dominican Republic in five-set thriller in women's VNL

ARLINGTON, United States, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China came from behind to edge the Dominican Republic in a five-set thriller on Wednesday in a women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) match.

Wu Mengjie scored 25 points and Gong Xiangyu added 18 as China secured a 25-22, 17-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13 victory, improving their overall record to 6-3 in the preliminary round.

Nineteen-year-old middle blocker Chen Houyu sealed the match with a decisive block in the tie-breaker. She finished with 12 points from five kills, four blocks and three aces. Zhuang Yushan was also in double figures with 14 points.

China's head coach Zhao Yong credited the win to his team's fighting spirit.

"The four matches in Arlington are very important for us [to qualify for the Finals] and this time we fought until the end," said Zhao. "Under pressure, our young players never gave up."

"Their serves were very aggressive, but we were able to make adjustment accordingly quick enough," Chinese captain Gong added. "We were very determined in our receiving, especially in the fifth set."

Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez tallied a match-high 33 points, but the Dominican Republic slipped to a 4-5 record after being outblocked 15-10 by China.

"I think if we look at the numbers, maybe the Dominican Republic had a better powerful attack than China, but China was better than us in blocking," said Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, president of the Dominican Republic Volleyball Federation.

Also on Wednesday, Germany outlasted Canada 24-26, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13, while the United States defeated Thailand 28-26, 21-25, 27-25, 25-15. ■