Milena Rasic (L) of Serbia spikes the ball during the FIVB Volleyball Nations League match between Serbia and China in Macao, south China, May 23, 2018. Serbia won 3-1. (Xinhua/Lo Ping Fai)
MACAO, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Thanks to Tijana Boskovic's 32 points, Serbia made it a clean sweep of the second round at the 2018 FIVB women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) with a 3-1 (21-15, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17) victory over China here on Thursday.
As hosts, China are assured of a place in the VNL finals and coach Lang Ping has taken the opportunity to give court time to younger players.
Opting to rest captain Zhu Ting, who's just back to China after a successful season with Turkish side VakifBank Istanbul, Lang Ping named Liu Xiaotong as the wing spiker and on-court skipper, with opposite hitter Duan Fang and liberto Lin Li also on the starting list.
China's 18-year-old spiker Li Yingying was also left out of the previous night's match in which China won 3-1 over Thailand and coach Lang held her back again on Thursday.
In last year's Grand Prix, Serbia also beat China 3-1 in pool play, and repeated the same score in the bronze medal match.
Earlier in the afternoon, Thailand defeated Poland 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 21-25, 16-14).
The Volleyball Nations League is a new idea from the FIVB, the sport's international governing body. The annual women's international volleyball tournament is contested of 16 national teams, replacing the World Grand Prix.
