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China rout Iran 3-0 at women's volleyball Asian Cup

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-20 09:22

TAICANG, East China - Host China swept Iran 3-0 on Sunday to claim the first win of the 2010 women's volleyball Asian cup.

The Chinese players took no sweat grasping the 25-16, 25-13 and 25-13 victory.

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Facing the comparatively low-profile Iran, China kicked off with an 8-5 lead in the first set. After leading at 11-6, China began to conquer the court with a 6-2 run and finished the set with a smash from Zhang Lei.

The following two sets were much easier for the hosts with their powerful blocking and spiking skill. They took an early lead and held on to make it three sets to nil.

Yu Juemin, newly-appointed head coach of the Chinese team, said he was very satisfied with the performance of the players.

"We had many young players on the court and their performance are very good.  This is my first match as head coach of China, and I think their performance is better than mine," said Yu.

In other matches on Sunday, defending champion Thailand defeated Japan 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20), while South Korea booked their first win in the tournament by beating Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-18). Chinese Taipei also claim the victory over Vietnam with 27-29, 25-20, 25-12 and 25-20.