On January 16th, the 20th round of the men's volleyball league kicked off, marking the final round of the first stage of the playoffs. The excitement level has somewhat decreased as the top 4 teams have already been determined, leading to many teams resting their main players. Consequently, this round of matches prioritizes friendship over results.
Let's take a look at the standings for the top 4 teams, whose head-to-head records will carry over to the next stage:
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Shanghai Men's Volleyball Team with 4 points
Shanghai's record against Shandong is a loss of 2:3 and a win of 3:1.
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Tianjin with 3 points
Tianjin and Baoding Woli have each won one match with a score of 3:1, but Tianjin ranks second due to fewer points lost. -
Baoding Woli with 3 points
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Shandong Men's Volleyball Team with 2 points
Despite being behind, Shandong managed to secure a victory against Shanghai, which is not too shabby compared to the other two opponents.
Teams outside the top 4 are fighting for honor, so let's see which team can seize the opportunity:
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Baoding Woli suffered a 0-3 home defeat against Beijing BAIC, ending Beijing's five-game losing streak and securing an honorable victory.
Wen Zihua did not start but came on as a substitute. The scores for the three sets were 22-25, 24-26, and 20-25. -
Guangdong lost 0-3 to Shandong
The starting lineup for Guangdong remained unchanged with Wang Hebin, Zhen Jiachong, and foreign player Andrew. Shandong rested players such as Zhai Demilitary, Li Lei, and Geng Xin.
At the beginning, Shandong led 5-2, but Guangdong gradually caught up after a timeout and tied the game at 12-all. The match was intense with the score fluctuating. At the end of the set, Guangdong led 19-17 but then lost five consecutive points to Shandong. Zhen Jiachong's service error gave Shandong the set point, and despite saving two set points, another service error resulted in Shandong winning 25-23. In the second set, Guangdong made more mistakes, allowing Shandong to widen the gap and win 25-17. In the third set, Shandong won 29-27.
Guangdong lost both home and away matches 0-3.
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Zhejiang defeated Tianjin 3-0
The scores for the three sets were 25-21, 25-22, and 25-19.
Although there was no live broadcast signal, judging from the scores, it seems that Tianjin's main players might have rested. Those who know can leave a message to inform us. -
Shanghai Men's Volleyball Team's foreign players all participated, winning 3-1 against Nanjing Guangdian MiaoMiao.
The schedule for the next stage has not been announced yet. If you like to plan ahead, please follow me, and I will bring you the latest updates when they become available.