Osaka, Japan, November 15, 2006 -- China outlasted Cuba in an intense battle in the 5-8 playoff bracket in Osaka on Wednesday.
In an extremely close match, China won 26-24, 25-21, 26-28, 25-20.
China seemed to start out slowly and Wang Yimei struggled to find her spiking form. The Cubans played exuberant volleyball from the start, with Liana Mesa on form and Rosir Calderon sending down a couple of massive spikes. But at the first and second technical timeouts, there was only one point in it, and there was only a two-point gap on one occasion before the score reached 21-18 in China's favor.
China edged into the lead at that point thanks to a wide serve by Mesa, a great block by Xu Yunli and a decent spike by Wang, who had looked out of sorts during the first set. Wang's erratic form continued when she allowed Cuba back into the game with a blocked spike and then a wide spike.
Zhou Suhong saved a setpoint for China and then Wang made amends by serving an ace to give China its own setpoint. Calderon was unable to handle Wang's next serve and China took the set 26-24.
Things stayed close in the second set although China was soon having to try and keep up with the dynamic Cubans. Yumilka Ruiz delivered some huge spikes while China's main hitters -- Wang, Yang Hao and Zhou -- were still struggling to get into the game.
Cuba pulled out to a 15-11 lead but a series of errors let China back in and they tied the scores at 16. Another error by Cuba and a great spike by Yang put the Chinese two points in the clear.
Yang helped extend that to three points at 22-19 and from there China was able to do enough to win the set, thanks in the end to two excellent spikes by Wang.
China were more confident entering the third set and Wang seemed to near to her top form and three superb strikes helped the Chinese to an 8-6 lead at the first TTO. The Chinese were moving the ball around well and both sides were defending with a lot of spirit.
Cuba kept chasing, but with Wang, Yang and Hao finally finding their form, there was little they could do and the Chinese were still two points ahead at the second TTO. But a spike by Daimi Ramirez, a good Cuban block on Yang and a defensive error put the Cubans in front at 17-16. Errors on both sides kept the scores level through 21.
Cuba edged in front with a terrific spike by Ruiz Luaces and again by Calderon, but both times Wang rescued China. Finally, at 26-26, Cuba took the lead for good on a spike by Ramirez and they took the set 28-26 on a gentle push by Ruiz.
The tight match continued into the fourth set. Cuba took a three-point lead at 12-9 but the Chinese roared back, leveling the scores at 12 and moving into a two-point lead at the second TTO with a slick spike by Zhou and a great block by Liu Yanan on Nancy Carrillo.
Yang and Liu then put the block on Ramirez and Lisbet Arredondo was unable to handle a fierce Wang serve, putting China four points ahead. Cuba tied the scores at 19 on spikes by Calderon and Carrillo, but then lost the plot as China forged ahead again. Wang and Xu shared the last four points between them, with Xu finishing things off with a first-time strike at the net.
