Serbian power weapon Tijana Boskovic scored 31 points to lead Serbia to a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21) win over hosts China in the bronze medal match of the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Finals at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre on Sunday.
Boskovic contributed 25 attacks, two blocks and four aces to top all scorers in the match. Brankica Mihajlovic and Jovana Stevanovic also scored in double-figures and finished with 18 and 11 points, respectively. The Serbians fired 11 aces in the bronze medal victory and this is one of the crucial point for their victory. Zhu Ting led China with 19 points, then Yuan Xinyue and Liu Xiaotong added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Serbia won over China the second time this year, last time was in week 3 in Hong Kong. They matched their best record in the competition – bronze medal victory as they also finished third in 2011 and 2013.
Host team China rounded up with 2 win – 2 lost, and end up with a 4th place in the tournament, not a satisfying result for the 2016 Rio Olympic Gold Medalist. Chinese star player Zhu Ting took up the role as thier new captain and showed her brilliant performance and scoring power, but she cannot make it on her own. Maybe soon China team will call back their miracle creating coach Jenny Lang Ping to take up the team again, readjust and reform, leading China team to create another miracle.
Highlights of the Match
