China defeated Serbia 3-1 in a thrilling match to secure the top spot in the women's volleyball Group A at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Yuan Xinyue (C) of China celebrates scoring with teammates during the women's volleyball preliminary round pool A match between China and Serbia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

China's 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, and 29-27 victory featured a clash between Serbia's Tijana Boskovic and China's Li Yingying. Boskovic scored an impressive 39 points, while Li contributed 28 points.

Boskovic's powerful attacks and serves came early in the first set, added with China's own errors, allowing Serbia to take the opening set.

A turning point came in the second set when Li and Wang Yuanyuan staged strong performance, leading China to level the match.

China made a key substitution in the third set, bringing in the young outside hitter Wu Mengjie for veteran Zhu Ting. Wu received well to resist Boskovic's attacks and hit the winning point of this set.

Boskovic fought hard in the fourth set, helping Serbia stave off multiple match points, while Li's late surge secured the victory for China.

"They played pretty good volleyball, very difficult to stop them in the block, and they received good, they also have a lot of options in attack," Serbia's head coach Giovanni Guidetti praised China's performance. "Boskovic got 39 points today. She could not do more, so somebody needs to help her."

"We don't have someone like Boskovic with top-tier offensive talent, so everyone needs to step forward and share the scoring burden," said Chinese middle blocker Wang. 

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