China's women's volleyball team narrowly defeated defending champions the United States 3-2 in a thrilling group stage match at the Paris Olympics on Monday.

Wang Yuanyuan (1st L) and Li Yingying (2nd L) of China block during the women's volleyball preliminary round pool A match between China and the United States at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

China quickly took the first two sets, but the U.S. made instant strategic adjustments, including substituting outside spiker Jordan Larson with Avery Skinner, which revitalized their play and pushed the match into a deciding fifth set.

In their previous encounter during the Tokyo Olympics, China had lost to the U.S., with the Americans ultimately winning gold. This time, China turned the tables with a 25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13 victory.

In the first set, the U.S. team gave away six points to China through unforced errors, while China only conceded two. The U.S. started the second set strongly, but Yuan Xinyue's consecutive solo blocks turned the tide, dismantling the U.S. momentum and leading China to a 5-0 scoring run before claiming the set 25-19.

The third set saw the U.S. establish an early lead with an impressive performance from Skinner, who contributed seven points from 12 spikes and inspired the U.S. to take the set 25-17. In the fourth set, the U.S. continued their momentum before winning the set at 25-20.

China spiker Li Yingying's attacking efficiency improved in the fifth set, scoring consecutive points, and star spiker Zhu Ting secured the match point for China.

"Their substitution of two main outside spikers indeed affected us. We played a bit conservatively and didn't adjust our pace well. However, it's commendable that the team held on in the fifth set," said China head coach Cai Bin.

"We must not expect matches to proceed too smoothly and must prepare for the toughest situations," he added. 

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