Bari, Italy, September 30, 2014 – Jenny Lang Ping led China to a perfect start at the 2014 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship. Winning five matches in a row, they advanced to the second round as top finishers of pool D.
Following a disappointing 10th finish at the last World Championship in Japan your years ago, the Chinese women came back with strong performance this time with their longest winning streak at the quadrennial event since winning 20 straight matches from 1982 second group stage to the 1990 semifinal.
"Of course it’s a good start for us. Everything went according to our plan so far,” said Lang Ping. “It is a long tournament. We have to play game by game.”
China also snapped their two-game losing streak against Asian arch-rivals Japan in this year’s World Grand Prix with a thrilling 3-2 victory Sunday evening that secured them the top place in pool D.
“It was a morale boost, and the points we got would also be important for us in the second phase,” said Lang Ping. “I am satisfied with our overall performance in the last five matches. Our skills and combination are not perfect, but we are improving. I am also glad to see the fighting spirits of our young players, they never give up.”
Lang Ping rotated the line-up of the Chinese team during the first round, trying to keep her team as fresh and energetic as possible.
"All the players need some opportunities to play. It’s impossible to use just six to seven players during the whole tournament. Our young players have done a good job.”
Thanks to their great performance in the first round, China were on the top of the standings with eight points before the start of the second phase play in pool E where they will face Italy, Dominican Republic, Germany and Croatia.
“Italy is a very strong team with a lot of experience. Dominican Republic did a good job in the first round. Germany and Croatia are also very good teams. I think we have a lot of challenges in front of us. We will get prepared both physically and mentally.”