The second stage of the Chinese Women's Volleyball Super League is about to end, with only one match remaining. The top four teams have basically been locked in, including Group C's Jiangsu and Shanghai, and Group D's Tianjin and Liaoning.
Shanghai Women's Volleyball Team has shown signs of fatigue and difficulty after losing their super-strong foreign aid, Xiaocaiwa. Making it into the top four is already considered a good result; Jiangsu Women's Volleyball Team, with the return of injured players such as Diao Linyu and Gong Xiangyu, has shown a positive upward trend and is a strong contender for the championship. Tianjin Women's Volleyball Team, under the leadership of Chen Fang as head coach and the return of Yao Di, has undergone revolutionary changes in both technical and tactical levels and team morale, remaining a strong favorite to win the title; Liaoning Women's Volleyball Team, after introducing new foreign aid, has significantly increased its attacking power, and being able to stand out in Group D is the best proof. A team that was originally going to play in the promotion-relegation matches has ultimately made it into the top four, making this year's league truly unpredictable and changeable. It is equally surprising that Beijing Women's Volleyball Team, which advanced to the top eight in the first stage with the third-highest total points, did not win a single match in the second stage, suffering double defeats from Shandong and Tianjin. Moreover, in the recently concluded match against Tianjin Women's Volleyball Team, Tianjin preserved its strength by not letting Li Yingying and Yao Di play, yet they still managed to lose.
To summarize, compared to the first stage, at least five teams in the second stage of the Chinese Women's Volleyball Super League are "like two different teams," which is quite remarkable!
The upcoming top four competition is likely to see Tianjin defeat Shanghai, and Jiangsu defeat Liaoning, followed by another meeting between Jiangsu and Tianjin in the final.
As the league approaches its conclusion, Lan Yuxingcheng also makes an early prediction of the 2025 national women's volleyball team roster.
After previous summary and analysis, Lan Yuxingcheng selected the top ten spikers, top ten blockers, top ten receivers, top ten setters, and top six liberos in the first stage of the 2024-2025 Chinese Women's Volleyball Super League.
Adding those not in the top ten, such as Zhu Ting, Zhang Changning, Yuan Xinyue, Wang Yizhu, Diao Linyu, Yang Shuming, Li Chenxuan, Fan Boning, etc., a total of 54 people, Lan Yuxingcheng once again selects the best among the best, preliminarily predicting the 2025 national women's volleyball team roster of 47 people (the final official roster will definitely not exceed this range) as follows:
Spikers (11): Li Yingying, Zhuang Yushan, Wu Mengjie, Jin Ye, Ni Mengjie, Tang Xin, Miu Yiwen, Chen Xiyue, Wang Yizhu, Zhang Changning, Zhu Ting
Blockers (10): Yuan Xinyue, Yang Han Yu, Wang Yuanyuan, Yang Maryting, Zeng Jieya, Shan Linqian, Wang Wenhao, Li Ruoqi, Gao Yi, Wan Ziyue
Receivers (12): Duan Mengke, Sun Jie, Gong Xiangyu, Zhou Yetong, Liu Zhening, Sun Yiran, Dong Mingxiao, Chen Boya, Chen Peiyan, Yang Shuming, Li Chenxuan, Fan Boning
Setters (8): Xu Xiaoting, Ding Xia, Yao Di, Diao Linyu, Sun Yan, Jie Shengyu, Zhang Zihan, Zou Jiaqi
Liberos (6): Yang Yuning, Ni Feifan, Wang Mengjie, Xu Jianan, Wu Xinyu, Zhu Xingchen
If further streamlined, Lan Yuxingcheng predicts that the roster will be at least the following 40 people (4 people temporarily not participating in training):
Spikers (10): Li Yingying, Zhuang Yushan, Wu Mengjie, Jin Ye, Miu Yiwen, Chen Xiyue, Zhang Changning, Tang Xin, Wang Yizhu, Zhu Ting (temporarily not participating in training)
Blockers (10): Yang Han Yu, Wang Yuanyuan, Yang Maryting, Zeng Jieya, Gao Yi, Shan Linqian, Wang Wenhao, Li Ruoqi, Wan Ziyue, Yuan Xinyue (temporarily not participating in training)
Receivers (7): Duan Mengke, Sun Jie, Gong Xiangyu, Zhou Yetong, Yang Shuming, Li Chenxuan, Fan Boning
Setters (8): Diao Linyu, Xu Xiaoting, Sun Yan, Jie Shengyu, Zou Jiaqi, Zhang Zihan, Ding Xia (temporarily not participating in training), Yao Di (temporarily not participating in training)
Liberos (5): Yang Yuning, Ni Feifan, Wang Mengjie, Wu Xinyu, Zhu Xingchen
In terms of spikers, Li Yingying, Zhuang Yushan, and Wu Mengjie have undoubtedly earned their spots on the national team with their outstanding performances in domestic leagues; Jin Ye, who has shown a resurgence this year with significant improvements in both offense and reception, should also have a place as a veteran; Miu Yiwen has performed well over the years, capable of playing both as a spiker and receiver, and has made progress in reception this year, so she should be included; Chen Xiyue, as a promising star, can be vigorously cultivated; Zhang Changning, although not playing much in the league, can play a good role in passing on skills and experience as a veteran, and it would make sense for her to return to the national team if her health permits. Tang Xin and Wang Yizhu (Wang Yizhu's offensive statistics as a spiker are not as good as Chen Xiyue and Tang Xin, but they do have abilities) are both prominent in the league in terms of offense, but the biggest problem is reception, and whether they will be selected is yet to be determined, depending on their performance in the second stage.
Ni Mengjie, despite her excellent performance in the league, may not be selected due to her height disadvantage and similarity to Zhuang Yushan; Zhu Ting's strength is undeniable, but as she is currently playing abroad, she may enter the roster during the first phase of the national team's formation, but is unlikely to join the training list.
In terms of blockers, Yuan Xinyue, Yang Han Yu, and Wang Yuanyuan are guaranteed to be selected for the national team, but whether Yuan Xinyue can participate in the national team's training will depend on the schedule of the Turkish league; Zeng Jieya, Shan Linqian, and Wang Wenhao have all been on the national team's radar since the previous two seasons, and are likely to be selected this year for key training; Yang Maryting and Li Ruoqi have performed exceptionally well in this year's league, and I hope they can make it onto the roster; Gao Yi's performance in this year's league has been unsatisfactory, so I predict she is very likely to be left out; Wan Ziyue, although not as outstanding as the previous two seasons, still has the potential to gain the favor of the national team head coach as a 1.96-meter newcomer.
In terms of receivers, Gong Xiangyu is a definite selection, and Duan Mengke will be focused on as a powerful receiver for training, while Sun Jie and Zhou Yetong are strong backup options; newcomers such as Liu Zhening, Sun Yiran, Dong Mingxiao, and Chen Boya each have their own characteristics and potential, but unfortunately, the gap with powerful receivers is still quite large, making it difficult for them to be selected; veteran Chen Peiyan has decent statistics in the league, but considering her age and frequent injuries, coupled with her lack of progress in the national team over the years, there is a high possibility she will be dropped.
The receiver position has always been a major challenge for the national team. If the national team reassembles this year, they must think outside the box and introduce more newcomers, not just limiting themselves to domestic leagues. They can also promote promising young talents from the national youth and junior teams to the national team to create powerful receivers, such as Yang Shuming, who won the 2024 U17 World Championship + MVP, Li Chenxuan, the MVP of the first National Youth Three-Ball Games (who can switch from spiker to receiver), and Fan Boning, who stood out in the second stage of this year's league with the youth team.
In terms of setters, Diao Linyu is still the mainstay, and Xu Xiaoting is the second choice; Ding Xia and Yao Di are very capable and experienced, but as veterans, they are unlikely to participate in training; newcomers such as Sun Yan, Jie Shengyu, Zou Jiaqi, and Zhang Zihan are likely to enter the roster for key training. After all, apart from the urgent need for backup forces in receiving, setting is also a big issue for the Chinese women's volleyball team. It is imperative to cultivate new setter talents as Ding Xia, Yao Di, and Diao Linyu are unlikely to continue until the next Olympics! In the new season from 2025 to 2028, the