Japan prevails over China in five sets

(BEIJING, June 15) -- In a match that lasted more than two hours and saw two sets go past 30 points, Japan was able to push ahead at the right time, beating China 29-31, 25-22, 25-20, 29-31, 15-9 in their first match of the FIVB World League 2008 on June 14. The match was played in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, in front of 4500 spectators.

"Our team didn't play well, especially in the small details," said Chinese head coach Zhou Jianan after the match.

The Japanese team, which qualified for the Beijing Olympics last week in Tokyo, is very young, said head coach Ueta Tatsuya, and had limited team to practice after arriving in Hangzhou. "We think highly of our opponent," he said after the match.

His captain, Kitajima Takeshi, agreed. "We had a tough match today," he said, "since the China team was really powerful."