Chinese libero Ren Qi played excellent defence in crucial moments of the match
Gdansk, Poland, September 1, 2014 – China seized victory in the thrilling fourth frame (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 33-31) in the third match in Pool C of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship at the Ergo Arena on Monday.
Key Points
• 3-1 win puts China in third place behind Bulgaria and Russia.
• Egypt lands in fourth place after the opening day in Pool C.
• The standoff in the fourth set went 30 minutes long but China gallantly held their ground to steal set and match victory.
• Yuan Zhi topped all scorers with 31 points for China; Egyptian hitter Ahmed Elkotb played in two full sets and subbed in one set but still managed to score 23.
Egypt were ahead at the first technical timeout 8-5 from Mohamed Badawy’s heroics on the attack and serve. China struggled on the attack but later got their rhythm and challenged Egypt to play point-by-point. The combination plays designed for Liang Chunlong and a fantastic block gave China the two-point lead.
A lucky serve from Mamdouh Abdelrehim sent the match to a deadlock at 19-all. Finally Yuan Zhi stepped in with outstanding kills that gave them that brought them closer to the end of the set, leaving Egypt scoreless in the run. Ahmed Abdelhay’s failed attack gave the set away to China 25-20.
China’s astonishing trips at the service line and attack line helped them run up an 8-6 lead. Then their excellent blocking worked well to further increase their lead at 17-12. Yuan Zhi poured in more points on the attack to gain total control of the second set 25-20.
China displayed an outstanding performance on defence in the third set that gave them a 9-5 advantage. Egypt made a powerful comeback in the closing points of the third set that a great defensive move by Abdelrehim closed the set to their favour 25-23.
Ahmed Elkotb and Abdelhay combined in scoring to lift Egypt to take an early lead in the fourth set. China managed to cut the lead and tie the score with the Egyptian team but an ace got them to have the set ball at 27-26. China did not give up easily and pulled off some defensive plays in the end for a 33-31 match victory.