The Czech Republic delivered one of the surprises on the opening day of the Women's Nations League tournament in Nanjing, after defeating host China 3:0 (25:20, 25:20, 26:24) in a Group 3 match during the first competitive week.
The success brought valuable points to the Czech women for the world ranking, allowing them to maintain their 15th position, while the defeat cost China one spot. The Asian team lost 16.91 points and dropped from sixth to seventh place with a total of 320.10 points.

The numbers show that the decisive difference came from errors. The Czech Republic scored 16 points from Chinese inaccuracies against just 7 for the hosts. The European team was also slightly more effective in attack (54 against 50 points), while both teams finished with an equal number of blocks.
In the first two sets, the Czech women controlled the game's development and won with an identical score of 25:20. The third set was the most contested, with China reaching 24:24 and coming close to bringing back the intrigue, but the Czech Republic kept its composure and closed the match 26:24.

China surpassed its opponent in defensive elements, recording more digs and better reception. However, the hosts failed to convert this advantage into enough attack points. The Czech Republic compensated with more effective finishing of rallies and significantly fewer unforced errors.
The most prolific scorer for the winners was captain Helena Mlejnková with 18 points, while Magdalena Brancuska added another 17. For China, Xianyu Tan also finished with 18 points, while Aiqin Wang scored 10.

Following this success, the Czech Republic started its participation in the Nations League in an excellent way, while China will have to quickly recover from the disappointment in front of its home crowd and seek revenge in its next matches.

photo:volleyballworld.com