China completes perfect group stage at Asian Women's Volleyball Championship

TIANJIN, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- China completed the group stage with three straight wins after sweeping Chinese Taipei 3-0 in its final group match at the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship on Wednesday, setting up a quarterfinal against Vietnam.

China made one change to the starting lineup used in its first two matches, with the returning Wu Mengjie partnering Zhuang Yushan as outside hitters.

Despite its advantage in height and overall strength, China was slow to find its rhythm and fell 4-1 behind early in the opening set. The host quickly recovered, scoring five straight points to take the lead before closing out the set 25-17.

The second set was closely contested in the early stages, but China pulled away to win 25-16.

China dominated the third, racing to an 8-1 lead before making several substitutions to test different combinations. The host went on to take the set 25-7 and complete the sweep.

China held the advantage across the major statistical categories, outscoring Chinese Taipei 40-25 in attack points and 11-1 in blocks. Wu and Zhuang finished with a match-high 13 points apiece, while Gong Xiangyu added 10.

In other matches Wednesday, South Korea defeated Hong Kong, China 3-1, while Indonesia swept Australia 3-0.

China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Vietnam advanced to the quarterfinals. Enditem