Slovenia drubbed China, 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23, to get back on playoff track in Day 3 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After wasting a 2-0 lead against the world No. 1 Poland in a tough five-set defeat the other day, the Slovenians learned their lessons this time in repelling the Chinese comeback bid.
Slovenia, the world No. 8, jumped to 7-3 to tie Brazil and Italy at third to fifth place following also their big wins earlier as the race to a Top-8 finish heats up in the final preliminary leg of the VNL here in the Philippines ahead of the final round in Poland on July 19 to 24.
Klemen Cebulj followed up his 20-point eruption against Poland with a 21-point masterclass highlighted by a single block in the fourth set to push Slovenia to match point. Jan Kozamernik landed an ace at the backline in the ensuing play as Slovenia iced the deal after a third-set meltdown.
Ziga Stern provided aid for Cebulj with 17 points as Kozamernik and Tine Urnaut had 13 points apiece for Slovenia, which raced to a commanding 2-0 lead only to fall short of completing a sweep.
Slovenia squandered a 24-22 upperhand in the third set as China fired four answered points to extend the match.
China, the world No. 22, rode on that momentum for a possible decider by sprinting to a 15-10 lead in the fourth set before Cebulj and Stern willed Slovenia back to the game and seal the deal in the homestretch.
Jingyin Zhang had 16 points for China, which absorbed its second straight loss in the Philippine leg after a five-set stand against unbeaten Japan in Tuesday’s opener. China slipped to 2-8 at 14th place.
Earlier, Brazil vented its ire on the Netherlands with an easy 25-21, 25-15, 25-20 win to shrug off its 23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 21-25 loss to Italy behind the efforts of Henrique Honorato and Lucas Saatkamp with 10 points each.
Italy followed suit, carving out a 25-14, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-9 win over Canada with Alessandro Michieletto firing 18 points.