Wang Yuanyuan of China (C) vies for the ball during the Pool A match against the Netherlands at the 2024 Olympic Games women's volleyball qualifiers in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province on Sept. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Suo Xianglu)
The competition for Olympic places remains fierce after the Dominican Republic beat Serbia 3-1 and the Netherlands beat China 3-2 in Ningbo, China on Friday in Pool A of the Paris 2024 women's volleyball qualifiers.
NINGBO, China, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Dominican Republic upset Serbia 3-1 here on Friday to snap the reigning world champions' four-game winning streak in Pool A of the 2024 Olympic Games women's volleyball qualifiers.
The Dominican Republic improved to 4-1 with the 25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 25-17 win, as Serbia's star spiker Tijana Boskovic's 32-point performance turned out to be in vain.
Later on Friday, the Netherlands rallied from two sets down to beat China 18-25, 24-26, 25-19, 26-24 and 15-13.
Indy Baijens led the Netherlands with 22 points, with Jolien Knollema, Marrit Jasper and Celeste Plak adding 18, 17 and 15 respectively.
Also on Friday, Canada beat Ukraine 3-1 and the Czech Republic overcame Mexico 3-1.
Serbia, the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic share a 4-1 record, while China and Canada both have three wins against two losses. With two more rounds remaining in the single round-robin tournament, the competition for the two available Olympic places remains wide open. ■
