China beats Bahrain in AVC Cup

Zhang Jingyin of China tries to save the ball during a 2022 AVC (Asian Volleyball Confederation) Cup match between China and Bahrain in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, on Aug. 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- China bounced back from behind to beat Bahrain 3-1 in the 2022 AVC (Asian Volleyball Confederation) Cup for Men here on Tuesday.

In the opening set, Bahrain hit a winning serve when the score was 27-27, and then fended off the offense to take the set 29-27.

In the second set, China made good use of Bahrain's serving errors and widened the lead in the later part of the set with multiple blocking points, tying the match 25-19.

Bahrain was unable to improve their serving in the third set while China established the lead with blocking efforts again to win the set 25-19.

China seemed to be cruising to a victory when they piled up a 9-5 lead in the fourth set, but Bahrain rebounded to bring a tight game. Chinese hitter Zhang Jingyin made the difference towards the end. He first extended China's lead to 23-21 with a one-on-one block, then sealed the win at 25-22 with two spikes.

Both China and Bahrain qualified for the classification round where they will vie for two places in the final four with Iran and Pakistan.