Courageous China goes down swinging

Even superstar Zhu Ting, the 2016 Rio Games MVP, found the going hard.

"This has been no doubt the toughest tournament that I ever played since I joined the national team six years ago," said Zhu, who plays for Istanbul-based club VakifBank.

Zhu's superb 26-point haul against the Italians again showed China's over-reliance on the 23-year-old.

However, the performances of 18-year-old Li Yingying－especially her 20 points against the Dutch－boded well on that front.

Li capped her breakout season for Tianjin in this year's China Volleyball League with a massive 43-point tally in the last game of the finals, totaling 206 points over the seven-match series.

She racked up 804 points over the season, making her the youngest player in CVL history to break the 800-point mark, and her emergence on the international stage in Japan looks set to relieve some of the pressure on Zhu.

"The season just made me a more mature player with a better mentality," said Li.

Lang, meanwhile, is sure the learning curve at the championship can only benefit the squad in the long run.

"Sometimes, losing is not necessarily a bad thing. It shows that we are lagging behind and need to make more effort," she said.

"We will take some time off now and decide the best way forward."