China rallies to beat Mexico in women's volleyball World Championship opener

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- China overcame a slow start to defeat Mexico 3-1 in its opening match at the women's volleyball World Championship here on Saturday.

China head coach Zhao Yong started the game with outside hitter Li Yingying and middle blocker Gao Yi. However, his team started slowly and dropped the opening set 22-25.

The turning point came when China trailed 23-24 in the second set. China saved the set point and then leveled the match with Wu Mengjie's spike, followed by a solid double block to seal the set 26-24.

China rode that momentum before dominating the third set 25-10 and maintaining control in the fourth to close out the match 25-18.

"We were a bit tight in the first two sets. We don't often play against teams like Mexico, so we were not very familiar with the way they play," said Zhuang Yushan, who led China in scoring.

"When we were trailing, we tried to stay aggressive and keep our spirits up. We celebrated every single point we scored, focusing only on that moment instead of thinking too much about the rest," she said.

In Group F's other action, the Dominican Republic swept Colombia 25-15, 25-18, 25-13. China will face Colombia in the second group match, while the Dominican Republic will take on Mexico.