Juncos, Puerto Rico, September 13, 2015 - The Serbian team is feeling great after winning over a strong but inconsistent Chinese team, at a result that gives them a straight pass to the second round and a major confidence boost. The game was the first one to go to a fifth set in Juncos and ended 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 18-25, 25-17, 15-5).
In a very difficult and tied match, Maja Aleksic scored 19 points for Serbia while Gong Xiangyu gave China 22 points that weren't enough for the second round berth.
Serbia had a good first set in which they led over the Chinese players who had a hard time getting the hang of the Serbian strategy. Even so China, after having a small come back, failed to defend and Serbia won the first set 20-25.
By the second set, China had regained confidence and attacked strongly. Serbia faced many mistakes and the Chinese players took the second set 25-14. As for the third set, China maintained their tactic and defended better, towards a 25-18 and a 2-1 overall.
However, it was not over yet, as Serbia regained their best shape and their attacking power to tie the game 25-17. The stroke was hard for China as the Asian girls seemed tired and completely out of focus. Their low defense was key for the outcome as Serbia took the fifth set 15-5 and the next round ticket.