OSAKA, Japan, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- China stood on top of the podium as the FIVB Women's World Cup concluded here on Sunday. Captain Zhu Ting was named MVP of the tournament. The United States claimed silver and Russia bagged bronze.
China had already secured their fifth World Cup title after a 3-0 win over Serbia on Saturday, but coach Lang Ping stuck to the regular starters in their match against Argentina with Gong Xiangyu scoring a game-high 15 points. Yuan Xinyue added 13 to the 25-17, 25-14, 25-12 win, followed by Zhu Ting with 12 points. Lucia Fresco had a team-high 13 points for the South American side.
The win enabled China to take the crown with a 11-0 record, losing only three sets at the tournament.
"Every one of our team has made progress and we have greater teamwork. It's better for us when we have more than one strong attacking points," said Zhu, who won back-to-back MVP honor on the awarding ceremony.
The United States drew a good conclusion to their World Cup campaign with a 25-21, 25-16, 16-25, 25-22 victory over South Korea.
Brazil defeated Russia 28-26, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19. Nataliya Goncharova and Lorenne Geraldo Teixeira tied at a game-high 21 points for Russia and Brazil respectively.
"I'm really happy with the win today and the way we played today. Throughout the match, we really fought for each point and that enabled us to neutralize our opponents, so it's very satisfying. Of course, we had some problems in this tournament, so we must improve many things. I really want to thank all the fans who supported us in this tournament," Brazil captain Fabiana Claudino said.
Despite the loss, Russia were still able to finish third two points ahead of Brazil to bring back home a bronze medal.
The Dominican Republic continued to impress after a 3-1 win over Serbia on Saturday, as the Pan-American Games champions fended off Serbia 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17.
Elsewhere, Kenya repeated their African Games victory over Cameroon 25-15, 26-24, 14-25, 25-21 to claim a long-waited first win in their last match and left their rivals winless. Host nation Japan beat the Netherlands 25-18, 27-25, 24-26, 25-21 to wrap up the tournament.
