Five-time winners China bucked a second set loss to repulse Iran, 26-24, 19-25, 25-10, 25-13, to rule Pool A of the AVC Cup for Women Thursday at the Philsports Arena.
Captain Wang Yifan led the Chinese with 25 points, including 10 in the third set, while Wang Wenhan (13), Zhuang Yushan (12) and Hu Mingyuan (10) also produced double-digit numbers.
Perfect in four Pool A matches, China will play Pool B No. 4 Australia in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
“We didn’t think about our numbers putting in our pool. It’s a big achievement of winning this game (against the Iranians) but the tougher games are behind this game. We have the quarterfinals and probably we are gonna make it to the semifinal or the final which we should really focus on. We are gonna prepare for it,” said Chinese coach Kuang Qi through interpreter and opposite spiker Li Xuemeng.
For the second straight match, Elahe Poor Saleh Shadehsari paced the Iranians.
Iran, which lost to hosts Philippines Wednesday, ended up its preliminary round stint with a 1-3 record and its Pool A ranking yet to be determined.
Iran will wait for the result of the Philippines-South Korea match Thursday night.
Photos: AVC