Valiant China grind to secure U21 world title

After six years, China are back at the top of the podium at youth level as the country’s national team triumphed at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship in Leon and Aguascalientes, Mexico, on Saturday.

China came back twice in the gold medal match to defeat Italy 3-2 (19-25, 25-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8) in Leon and take the title. Brazil finished third in the event.

The Chinese resilience was on full display since the opening day of the tournament as, after dropping their first match in straight sets to Serbia, the team never looked back, winning their next seven matches to end the week in first place - they also won three-straight tie-breakers during the elimination rounds.

The first U21 world champions among the women, the Chinese returned to the top of the podium at an Age Group World Championship for the first time since 2017, when the nation’s U20 team took its third title, following victories in 1995 and 2013.

“It was a very tough match and we had to deal with a lot of pressure to take the title,” Chinese head coach Kuang Qi reflected. “We’re not better than Italy, but we are the champions.”

Against Italy, China relied once again on their strong outside hitter duo to triumph. While team captain Yushan Zhuang topped all scorers with 23 points (21 kills, two blocks), Xin Tang added another 17, with 13 kills, three aces and one block.

China's Ziyue Wan had a 15-point performance in the gold medal match

Outside hitter Stella Nervini was Italy’s most reliable scorer with 21 points (20 kills, one block), while opposite Anna Adelusi, who was on and off the court during the final, registered 13 (12 kills, one block).

China’s higher efficiency in blocking (14 points to Italy’s seven) and from the service line (five aces to two) proved instrumental for their victory as the points scored in these areas helped the team offset Italy's offensive superiority (69 kills to 59). The champions also gave up fewer points in errors (25 to 29) in the final.

“We’re very happy,” commented setter Yalun Zhao. “I honestly didn’t think we could beat Italy, but we did it and we’re super excited.”

Brazil won the bronze medal match against Japan

In the bronze medal match, Brazil secured their spot on the podium with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-14) victory over Japan. Six-time world champions in the U21 Age Group, the South Americans returned to the podium for the first time since 2015, when they took one of their five silvers.

Outside hitter Helena Wenk led the Brazilian victory with 15 points (ten kills, five blocks), followed by middle blocker Juliana Gandra, who produced 14 (12 kills, two blocks). Outside hitter Amika Saiki was Japan’s leading scorer with 11 points (nine kills, two blocks).

Women’s U21 World Championship Dream Team

Zhuang tied Serbia’s Una Vajagic as the tournament’s top scorer, ending her participation in the U21 World Championship with 137 points (126 kills, six blocks and five aces). She was China’s top scorer in six of the team’s eight matches in the tournament and scored 20 or more points on three occasions, saving her best performance for the most critical moment of the event, helping the Chinese top Italy in the gold medal match with an impressive 23 points.

“The gold medal match was very difficult, I felt that both teams were at the same level, but maybe we were a little bit better on the tie-breaker,” Zhuang commented. “I’m so happy and excited. I was surprised to win the MVP award. It’s really encouraging to be selected as the best player in the tournament and it will give me more motivation to keep pushing.”

Zhuang played a big part in China's success in Mexico

Most Valuable Player: Yushan Zhuang (China)
Best Setter: Valentina Bartolucci (Italy)
Best Opposite: Anna Adelusi (Italy)
Best Outside Hitters: Yushan Zhuang (China) and Stella Nervini (Italy)
Best Middle Blockers: Ziyue Wan (China) and Luzia Nezzo (Brazil)
Best Libero: Xingchen Zhu (China)