China soars past Puerto Rico in five sets

SHENZHEN, China, May 23, 2013 – China remained undefeated at the China Women’s International Volleyball Tournament after pulling a come from behind five-set victory (20-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-11) over Puerto Rico before around 11,000 spectators on Thursday.

In the other match on Thursday, Thailand edged Cuba in five sets (25-18, 27-25, 17-25, 23-25, 15-11).

The team of coach Lang Ping recovered from a slow start to finish with a dominating performance. The home side improved to a 2-0 record in the second phase of the event and 5-0 overall.

Hu Ruoqui led China with 22 points while Yunli (17), Na (12), Chunlei (12) and Ting (11) also finished with double figures in the score charts. Karina Ocasio-Malpica topped Puerto Rico with 19 followed by Diana Reyes (17), Yarimar Rosa (16) and Lynda Morales (15).

“Puerto Rico played a good game but we made adjustments in our defense, and our players never let the intensity to go down,” Lang Ping said.

“We established our serves and blocks early in the game but couldn’t close the match,” Puerto Rico’s Rafael Olazagasti said.

The tournament concludes on Friday with Puerto Rico v Thailand and China v Cuba.