China NT 2023

    As the first match of the tournament the level was expected, but a win is still a win even in 5 sets.


    LYY doing LYY things.

    Gong started off slow, but picked up the pace.

    Diao's sets are still hit and miss, mainly with Yuan.

    Wang Yunlu played her role, not the most eye catching performance, but her tough serving helped China take the lead in the 5th set eventually winning it.

    Xu Xiaoting came in and lost a point during a really good rally due to double touch...

    The biggest take away was seeing Wang Mengjie play amazing defense. Thank god she came back! :heart:


    Brazil has some key players missing so they'll be stronger come the finals. China doesn't have any players to add in so it'll be on them to clean up their own problems.

    Where is our senior match analyst...@ Ollie ? :lol:


    I thought we didn’t play well, team co-ordination was lacking and reception was poor. Setting was inconsistent. The MBs did ok...Wang YY looked quicker and sharper than before, tho I wish she and Yuan will improve on their blocking. I think we were lucky to win because Brazil’s play was also a bit messy.


    I hope Zhong Hui gets a chance to play in the next match :)

    Quote from Julian Chow

    Where is our senior match analyst...@ Ollie ? :lol:


    I thought we didn’t play well, team co-ordination was lacking and reception was poor. Setting was inconsistent. The MBs did ok...Wang YY looked quicker and sharper than before, tho I wish she and Yuan will improve on their blocking. I think we were lucky to win because Brazil’s play was also a bit messy.


    I hope Zhong Hui gets a chance to play in the next match :)

    It's going to take some time throughout the tournament to adjust. Reception looked ok to me. LYY was stable and for the most part same for Wang Yunlu. LYY's defense was amazing, she saved couple balls in the back row single handedly. Their serving pressure was good too!


    Improving blocking will be difficult. They're used to being strong blockers in the Chinese League, but that's because the level is low. Once they play international players their block disappears. They have the speed and athleticism to find gaps through and above Yuan and Wang YY's block. Wish Eri Xue was here. ;(


    Zhong Hui deserves a chance.

    Quote from Julian Chow

    Where is our senior match analyst...@ Ollie ? :lol:


    I thought we didn’t play well, team co-ordination was lacking and reception was poor. Setting was inconsistent. The MBs did ok...Wang YY looked quicker and sharper than before, tho I wish she and Yuan will improve on their blocking. I think we were lucky to win because Brazil’s play was also a bit messy.


    I hope Zhong Hui gets a chance to play in the next match :)

    I felt the team cohesion was pretty sloppy too, although I only watched the 4th set. I was rooting for them to take the 4th set but then they fumbled and the blocks started to be invisible :gone:


    Tbh, against an under-strength Brazil and still having to win in 5 sets, there's a lot to improve on for Team China....


    Unless Zhu Ting miraculously returns but of course, you should never fully rely on just one person :):)

    Quote from benchwarmer

    The performances have not impressive so far. GXY is so off today. CB should replace her and let her rest. She looks tired. Noticed that she falls a lot when hitting the balls. Perhaps the injury she had last year is affecting her balance.

    Zhou Yetong would’ve made a good replacement if GXY is having an off day, but she isn’t here :(

    Quote from benchwarmer

    The performances have not impressive so far. GXY is so off today. CB should replace her and let her rest. She looks tired. Noticed that she falls a lot when hitting the balls. Perhaps the injury she had last year is affecting her balance.

    I think she falls because of the type of sets Diao gives her, it's quick and short. It's dangerous because she doesn't have room for landing. When Ding Xia or Yao Di was setting Gong barely fell down.

    Diao Lin-yu was afraid that she set the ball to Zheng Yi-xin.

    Perhaps Zheng Yi-xin only played with Xu Xiao-ting as the substitute group.

    Zheng Yi-xin became "the second libero" in Set 4.

    My favourite roster of Chinese (in 2022)
    male NT:
    S - Yu Yao-chen, Chen Lei-yang
    OP - Jiang Chuan, Dai Qing-yao
    OH - Zhang Jing-yin, Yu Yuan-tai, Liu Li-bin, Fu Hou-wen
    MB - Zhang Zhe-jia, Peng Shi-kun, Li Yong-zhen, Jiang Zhen-yang
    L - Yang Yi-ming, Yang Tian-yuan


    female NT:
    S - Yao Di, Diao Lin-yu
    OP - Gong Xiang-yu, Sun Xiao-xuan
    OH - Li Ying-ying, Wang Yi-fan, Wu Meng-jie, Zhuang Yu-shan
    MB - Yuan Xin-yue, Wang Yuan-yuan, Zheng Yi-xin, Liu Yu
    L - Ni Fei-fan, Xu Jia-nan