China shocked the volleyball world by upsetting the hosts in five sets (15-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) in the quarterfinals, punching a ticket to the semifinals and a guaranteed shot at a medal while the two-time reigning gold medal squad will be heading home early.
Brazil rolled through Pool A in the preliminary round, sweeping all five opponents to go a perfect 15-0 in sets.
China, meanwhile, struggled in prelim play, going 2-3 overall and 9-9 in sets - good for fourth place in Pool B.
But China entered the Olympics as the No. 3 team in the world and they showed their mettle Tuesday night, rebounding from an embarrassing 25-15 loss in the first set to take the next two sets from Brazil.
Brazil, with eight players who competed in the 2012 London Games and four of them veterans from Beijing in 2008, had not dropped a single set until their quarter-final shocker against China.
China won their second gold medal in 2004 in Athens and are now on a path to a third under head coach Jenny Lang Ping, a former Chinese volleyball player who coached the United States to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Brazil rolled through Pool A in the preliminary round, sweeping all five opponents to go a perfect 15-0 in sets.
China, meanwhile, struggled in prelim play, going 2-3 overall and 9-9 in sets - good for fourth place in Pool B.
But China entered the Olympics as the No. 3 team in the world and they showed their mettle Tuesday night, rebounding from an embarrassing 25-15 loss in the first set to take the next two sets from Brazil.
Brazil, with eight players who competed in the 2012 London Games and four of them veterans from Beijing in 2008, had not dropped a single set until their quarter-final shocker against China.
China won their second gold medal in 2004 in Athens and are now on a path to a third under head coach Jenny Lang Ping, a former Chinese volleyball player who coached the United States to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Category
🥇
Sports