China in the VNL Week 2 in Manila. –FIVB
MANILA, Philippines — Li Yingying and Gong Xiangyu delivered China’s fifth win in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) after turning back Canada, 25-16, 18-25, 25-12, 25-18, on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Li unloaded 20 points off 17 attacks and three aces, while Gong chimed in with 15 points as the World No.3 China earned its fifth win in six matches to tie the United States at No.2 in the Quezon City leg of the world championship.
China and USA will clash for the solo second place on Saturday evening.
Li also had a tremendous floor defense with eight receptions and five digs, while Gong had 17 receptions.
Wang Yuanyuan had four blocks to finish with 12 points, while team captain Yuan Xinyue added eight with three blocks as the Chinese used their net defense to recover from a second set loss and take full control of the last two sets.
Kiera Van Ryk carried Canada with 14 points and six digs, as Alexa Gray sat out a day after scoring 24 points in their 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 victory over Belgium on Thursday.
Hilary Howe stepped up for the Canadians with 11 points, falling to a 3-4 record in the 10th seed after giving up 24 errors.
Along with hosts Turkey, the top seven teams of the three-week preliminary stage will advance to the Finals in Ankara on July 13-17.