The Chinese women's volleyball team play their first game against the Canadian counterpart during the second week of the FIVB Women's Nations League at the Hong Kong Coliseum on June 13, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - China got off to a strong start to their second week of the FIVB Women's Nations League as they defeated Canada 25-14, 25-18, 29-27 on Tuesday at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

After a four-year absence, the FIVB World Women’s Nations League hosted by the Hong Kong Volleyball Association returned with great success this year. Eight world-class teams gathered in Hong Kong to compete for a spot in the finals. 

Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR; John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism; and Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, attended an opening ceremony ahead of the match.

Led by team captain Yuan Xinyue, the Chinese women’s volleyball team play their first game against the Canadian counterpart at 8:30 pm. 

In the initial two sets, Canada posed no real threat as China comfortably took a 2-0 lead.

However, Canada made a comeback in the tightly contested third set. Despite the Canadians leading the set 24-22, they squandered two set points, before China capitalized on Li Yingying's powerful spike and Xu Xiaoting's accurate serving to secure the win.

Once again, Li proved to be a pivotal player for China as the outside spiker accumulated 13 attack points and one block, resulting in a match-high total of 14 points. Yuan Xinyue and Wang Yuanyuan also contributed 9 points each.

READ MORE: FIVB Nations League: China women's team arrives in HK

With this victory, China claimed the top spot on the table, surpassing Poland, who earlier defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1.

Andy Chong of China Daily took all the photos of the exciting match.

Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR (second left); Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR (second right); John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the HKSAR (center); Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism (first right); and Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, (first left), attend a ceremony ahead of the match of the FIVB Women's Nations League at the Hong Kong Coliseum on June 13, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR (second left); Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR (second right); John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the HKSAR (center); Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism (first right); and Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, (first left), watch the match of the FIVB Women's Nations League at the Hong Kong Coliseum on June 13, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR; Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR; John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of the HKSAR; and Paul Chan Mo-po, the financial secretary, attend the match of the FIVB Women's Nations League at the Hong Kong Coliseum on June 13, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)