China beats Netherlands 3-1 at Volleyball Women's World Championship

NAGOYA, Japan - China edged the Netherlands 3-1 here Tuesday to top Pool H at the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.

The scores of the four sets were 23-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-17, respectively.

China and the Netherlands previously had four encounters at the World Championships, with China winning three of them.

In the game Tuesday, the Netherlands got off to a flying start, leading 4-1 in the first set. China soon leveled the score and the two sides took turns to lead in the rest of the set. After a 23-23 tie, Buijs's spikes helped the Dutch win 25-23.

China came back in the second set, and after leading 12-10, enlarged the margin to win the set 25-13. In the following two sets, the Dutch failed to pose any serious threat to China, and China sealed the victory with 25-18, 25-17, respectively.

Lonneke Sloetjes of the Netherlands got a match-high 26 points, while China's Zhu Ting got 19 points to lead her team.

Earlier in the day, Serbia defeated Italy 3-1 to rank the first in Pool G.

China will play Italy in the semifinal, while Serbia will fight the Netherlands. Italy have defeated China 3-1 in the first round of the tournament.

"We are looking forward to the semifinals and the final. The four teams are all very strong. We will make preparations in the next two days," said China coach Lang Ping after the game.

"Italy is a team with its own style. It's hard to predict the result of the game. We will analyze the opponents and play a great game," she said.

The semifinals will be held in Yokohama on Friday.