LUOHE, China, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Host China was beaten by Serbia 21-25, 25-23, 21-25 and 18-25 on Saturday night, the second day of the women's volleyball Grand Prix in Luohe, a city of central China's Henan Province.
China's women's volleyball team is known for its technical abilities, fast speed, slick transition and overall balance. They was a major force in the 1980s and again more recently, won the 2003 World Cup and the 2004 Olympic gold medal.
This is really the first time for the young generation of the Chinese women volleyball to take part in the world-class match, said China's head coach Yu Juemin before the Grand Prix.
However, the Chinese players failed to show their fast speed and slick transition in the match against Serbia who ranks ninth in FIVB list.
The young players' skill and experience are less than their Serbian rivals and our attack is not very effective, Serbia is a powerful team, and we should learn from them, said Yu.
During the first set, the Chinese players seemed like sleepwalkers before the second technical timeout at 6-16, and they simply didn't put themselves into the match.
Ace spiker Hui Rouqi woke up to claw back some points for a 14-16 deficit. However, the momentum didn't last long enough and Serbia won the first set 25-21.
The Chinese players eventually found their rhythm to escalate their speed and quicken slick transition. As Serbia made a string of errors, China won the second set.
However, against Serbia's fierce and sharp spikes, the Chinese players failed to find effective ways and lost the following sets.
Serbia gave us an important lesson and there are too much we should learn from them, said Wei Qiuyue, captain of the Chinese team.
China beat Kazakhstan on Friday, and will face the United States on Sunday.