Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MATSUMOTO, Japan (AP) — China assumed early control of the women's volleyball World Cup on Sunday, beating Algeria in straight sets to make it two wins in two matches.
Zeng Chunlei and Liu Yanhan scored 12 and 11 points respectively.
China conceded just 24 points over the course of the match to win 25-5, 25-11, 25-8.
"I think our reception, serves and attacks are all things that can be improved, so we need to practice those," said China coach Lang Ping, who led the United States to the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics. "Tonight we have a meeting to prepare for our match against USA, who we think are the strongest opponents we will face."
China, which leads with six points, plays the U.S. on Monday.
The U.S. lost to a Tijana Boskovic-inspired Serbia. Karch Kiraly's side rallied to lead 2-1, but surrendered the final two sets with Boskovic striking 23 points over the five sets to help deliver a 25-20, 22-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-6 win for Serbia.
Russia sits second, a point behind China, after downing host Japan 12-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 15-13.
Elsewhere, Dominican Republic, Argentina and South Korea picked up their first wins of the competition, overcoming Kenya, Cuba, and Peru in straight sets.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
