China Wins Fourth-Straight U20 Match, Sweeps Russia for Gold Medal

FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship

• July 14-24, 2017
• Cordoba, Mexico
• Schedule/Results

Gold Medal match

China def. Russia 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-16)

Bronze Medal match

Japan def. Turkey 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-20, 15-12)

China won its third U20 world championship on Sunday after sweeping Russia in Sunday’s gold medal match. The title follows U20 championships in 1995 and 2013.

While the Chinese denied Russia its third U20 title, the runner-up finish is the team’s best result since winning its back to back crowns in 1997 and 1999.

Japan nabbed its first podium finish since 2007, when it earned the bronze. The third place effort is the country’s sixth in tournament history and second best to a runner-up finish in 1985.

Turkey made history by making its first ever U20 semifinal appearance, but had to settle for the fourth place finish.

China 3, Russia 0

China secured the gold medal by capitalizing on Russian miscues in a sweep. The Russians committed 22 errors, while China limited its miscues to 12.

China also grabbed four more kills (44-40) and two more aces (5-3). Russia did win the blocking battle 5-4.

Xiaoqing Cai led the way for China with 15 points, including 12 kills and two aces, while Han Wu chipped in 13 points, with 10 kills and a team-best three aces. Yuqian Zhang added nine points, including a team-leading two blocks.

Angelina Lazarenko topped the Russian scorers with 14 points, including a team-best 10 kills and four blocks. Anna Kotikova added 10 points, with nine kills and a block.

https://youtu.be/Zu_y9SjlgVs

 Japan 3, Turkey 2

Japan rallied from down 2-1 in the match and overcame 19 Turkish blocks and six aces to grab the bronze medal on Sunday.

The teams tied in points at 102 as Japan won the offensive battle, outdoing Turkey 67-60 in kills and earning eight extra points from Turkish miscues (25-17). For their part, the losers managed a 19-6 lead in blocks and 6-4 advantage in aces.

Zehra Gunes scored a match-high 21 points and Tugba Senoglu added 20, but it was not enough to lift Turkey to victory. Gunes put down 11 kills and added a match-high seven blocks and three aces, while Senoglu registered a team-best 15 kills and five blocks. Three other players: Tutku Burcu Yuzgenc (16), Saliha Sahin (13) and Yasemin Guveli (10), chipped in double-digit scoring efforts.

Four Japanese played posted double-digit performances in the win, led by Ai Kurugo’s 19 points. Kurugo notched a match-leading 17 kills and added a block and an ace. Shuri Yamaguchi (15), Miyu Nakagawa (15) and Shiori Aratani (13) followed. Nakagawa managed 14 kills, while Aratani added 12. Yamaguchi chipped in 10 kills and added a team-best three blocks and two aces.

https://youtu.be/5vqSR2WNobY