Italy beats China in Women's Volleyball Nations League

Italy defeated China 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-16) in the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) on Sunday.

Italy's opposite spiker, Paola Ogechi Egonu, scored a

game-high 16 points, followed by her teammate Myriam Fatime Sylla with 12 points and China's captain Yuan Xinyue, also with 12 points.

Yuan Xinyue (R) of China competes during the preliminary match between Italy and China at the Women's Volleyball Nations League 2024 Macao in Macao, south China, June 2, 2024. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

"Italy is a strong team, and I think we first need to do better in the details," Yuan said afterwards. With that foundation, she added, the team can then consider how to compete in terms of offense and counterattacks.

After the match, China dropped to seventh in the world rankings, with Japan rising one place to sixth spot. Italy climbed to fourth, after Turkey, Brazil and Poland.

Sunday's other two matches saw the Netherlands beat France 3-0 and Brazil sweep Thailand 3-0.

The next stop for the Women's VNL will take place in Hong Kong from June 11 to 16, after which the world rankings will be settled for positions at the 2024 Paris Olympics.