On January 18th, the last round of the first stage of the women's volleyball league playoffs kicked off. The two games that ended first saw Jiangsu beat Shenzhen 3-0 and Tianjin's three main players rested as they also won 3-0 against Shandong. Both Jiangsu and Tianjin finished with six consecutive victories. In the other two matches, Liaoning defeated Beijing 3-1, while Shanghai lost to Fujian 2-3.
The final standings for this stage are as follows:
Group D:
Tianjin with 6 wins and 18 points,
Liaoning with 4 wins and 12 points,
Shandong with 2 wins and 5 points,
Beijing with 0 wins and 1 point.
Group C:
Jiangsu with 6 wins and 17 points,
Shanghai with 3 wins and 11 points,
Fujian with 3 wins and 8 points,
Shenzhen with 0 wins and 0 points.
- Tianjin's Wang Yizhu, Yao Di, and Wang Yuanyuan rested, with Li Yingying scoring 13 points and Liu Meijun getting 19 points in the starting lineup. The supporting cast included Zhang Shiqi, Fetisova, Meng Dou as the second setter, and Kuriyama Kurumi as the libero.
In the first set, Tianjin made multiple adjustments, with Fetisova and Liu Meijun playing well, leading 12-8, causing the opponent to call a timeout. Liu Meijun's continuous blocks and spikes created a six-point gap, and Tianjin led all the way to win 25-20.
In the second set, the score was close, but Tianjin won due to their proactive offense at the end of the set. After a 20-all tie, Zhang Shiqi's quick attack resulted in a block, to which Yang Hanyu responded with one of her own, making it 21-all. Liu Meijun then scored consecutively, securing the set for Tianjin at 25-22.
In the third set, Li Xin replaced Sun Jie and was blocked twice in attack upon entering the court, resulting in fewer passes from the second setter. Tianjin gradually widened the score, ultimately winning 25-18.
- Liaoning fielded their full-strength team, preparing for the top 4 matches.
The starting lineup included Ding Xia, Duan Fang, Shi Bingtong (who scored the highest in the team with 19 points), Hu Minyuan, Martinez with 14 points, Zatkovici with 17 points, and Xu Jianan.
In the first set, Liaoning mainly won through their offense, with Zatkovici scoring through both spikes and serves, leading 7-5. In the middle of the set, the double foreign aid high block stopped Jin Ye, making it 13-9. Beijing had more fluctuations in their first pass, with many adjusted attacks, and Liaoning won 25-19.
In the second set, after a 4-all tie, Liaoning's first pass was unstable, giving away points through errors. Beijing seized the opportunity to lead by 3 points and maintained the lead throughout the set. This set saw Beijing's offense in good form, with Liaoning trailing in points. At the end of the set, Liaoning narrowed the gap to 2 points, losing 22-25 and tying the match 1-1.
In the third set, Liaoning trailed 0-4, had their attacks repeatedly blocked, and then fought back point by point to level the score. In the middle of the set, Liaoning's offense improved, winning 25-22 and taking a 2-1 lead in sets.
In the fourth set, Liaoning started strong with a 6-1 lead, making the game one-sided. Ding Xia scored with a second ball, and Duan Fang scored with a serve, leading Liaoning to a 17-5 advantage.
- Shanghai's Xu Xiaoting rested, with Huang Xinyue starting.
Taina La scored 22 points, Zhong Hui 17 points, Fujian's Gao Jiayuan 22 points, Zhuang Yushan and Huang Feng both scored 13 points.
At the start, the two teams were closely matched in scoring, with Shanghai once leading but being caught up. The turning point came in the middle of the set when Taina La was replaced by Wang Yindi. Wang Yindi's attack was blocked, and Ou Yang Qianxi made a hitting error, prompting Shanghai to call a timeout at 16-19. They returned to lose 25-27.
In the second set, Shanghai led before the 11-point mark. They were then overtaken and at times trailed by 5 points, eventually losing by 2 points, 23-25.
In the following two sets, Shanghai won 25-17 and 25-12, dragging the match to a decisive fifth set. In the fifth set, Shanghai changed sides at 6-8 and ultimately lost 9-15.
In the last match, Jiangsu's Gong Xiangyu and Diouf did not choose to rest and started the game,
Tang Xin scored 16 points, Wu Mengjie 14 points, and Gong Xiangyu 12 points. They swept their opponents in three sets, 25-10, 25-18, 25-20. Shenzhen only managed to score ten points in a single set, which might be the lowest of the season.
The playoffs have concluded, and the finals will be contested next. If you enjoy this content, please follow me for more match reports.