What a surprise! The Chinese U21 women's volleyball team lost 0-3 to Italy, missing out on the semifinals, with Japan advancing.

On August 16, Beijing time, the quarterfinals of the U21 Women's Volleyball World Championship concluded. In a highly anticipated match, the defending champions, the Chinese women's volleyball team, suffered a significant defeat against the Italian team, losing 0-3. It's unfortunate that they couldn't secure a championship title, and their performance in this match was quite disappointing!

The Chinese women's volleyball team dominated the group stage, winning all five matches and advancing to the knockout stage, extending their winning streak to 13 matches. In the round of 16, they displayed full power with a 3-0 sweep over Thailand to reach the quarterfinals, where they faced the strong European team, Italy. This was indeed a tough match, and the challenge was significant for us to advance!

Once the match began, both teams played very intensely in the first set, and we managed to keep the score close, trading points with Italy. However, due to poor handling of crucial points, we narrowly lost 23-25. In the second set, the Chinese team fell into a passive position, with Italy's offense and defense flourishing. Their strong attacks and impenetrable blocks led to a 19-25 loss for China, putting us in a dire situation at 0-2. In the third set, the Chinese team completely fell apart, overwhelmed by Italy's offensive onslaught, suffering a crushing defeat of 15-25, resulting in a total loss of 0-3 to the Italian team, abruptly ending their 13-match winning streak in the championship!

From this match, it was evident that the Chinese women's volleyball team's performance was very poor. The serves were erratic, there were no blocks from the middle blockers, and quick attacks were ineffective. In contrast, Italy excelled in both offense and defense, leaving us with no solutions to counter their play. It felt like we were dominated by the Italian team across all age levels!

In the other three quarterfinal matches, the Japanese women's volleyball team performed excellently, decisively sweeping the Turkish team 3-0 and advancing to the semifinals. The powerhouse Brazil also showed impressive form, dominating the South American derby with a clean 3-0 victory over Argentina. In the European derby, Bulgaria fought hard for four sets, eliminating Poland 3-1 to secure a spot in the semifinals!

With the conclusion of the quarterfinals, the four semifinalists have been determined, with Europe emerging as the big winner, securing two spots, while Asia and South America each claimed one. The semifinal matchup will feature a strong clash between Italy and Brazil for a spot in the finals, while Japan and Bulgaria will battle for the other semifinal berth. After being eliminated, the Chinese women's volleyball team can only compete with Argentina for the 5th to 8th place ranking!

By/ Sports Novel