China women's volleyball team loses again in Olympic preliminaries

TOKYO - Reigning Olympic champions China lost their second straight women's volleyball match at Tokyo 2020, going down 3-0 to the United States in Pool B here on Tuesday.

World No 1 side the US defeated China 29-27, 25-22, 25-21, with spiker Jordan Thompson dominating the game with 34 points.

China captain Zhu Ting looked to recover from a sluggish performance in the last match, notching a team-high 18 points.

"I think my teammates gave me so much confidence, I know I can go out swinging every time and they always have my back. That helped me to play freely and confidently," said Thompson.

The American spiker also commented on the recent improvement of her team, "We didn't play together like a team before, but now we've found the reason, now we are more connected, and I think it has shown on our play."

Discussing the defeat, especially the failure in the first set, China head coach Lang Ping said her team has to enhance stability when dealing with key balls.

"Our blocks were also not efficient enough, especially against Thompson."

"Yes, [the journey in Tokyo] is even harder than Rio, but we have to face the reality. We need to play more confidently," said Lang Ping.

Zhu, who has been suffering from wrist injury, said she felt better in Tuesday's match.

"The pain did affect me a lot in Sunday's opener, but I've adjusted myself," said the captain.

"I'm eager for a victory," she added.