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Dalian, Northeastern China, May 30, 2005 - Hosts China, Cuba and Poland all eased past their opponents on the first day of group competition of the second leg of the China’s International Women’s Volleyball Tournament here on Monday.

The seven teams, who competed last week in Ningbo, Southeast of China where China and Cuba finishing one and two, came here for another round of competition May 30 to June 4. China, Japan, Poland and Dominican Republic are pooled into Group A while Cuba, the Netherlands and Bulgaria are in Group B.

In the first match of the day, Poland defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21). In the first set and the second set, Poland lagged behind in the early stages but they took full advantage of their superior experience, coming back from 18-23 down in the first set and 11-13 in the second set to clinch the sets.
Pic: The Dominican Republic found Poland's defence very strong
With two sets in hand, Poland played more confidently and although they lost the third set, they fought back strongly in the fourth and gave no chances to the Dominican Republic, leading all the way to the victory.

Cuba had no difficult at all in beating the Netherlands 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19). The Netherlands struggled and almost trailed for the entire match, even in the third set which they won. The Dutch came back only after levelling 19-19 and the Cubans made too many unforced errors.

In the last match of the day, hosts China defeated their Asian rival Japan 3-1(25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15) and although the Japanese players are on average shorter than the Chinese, they put up a better than expected performance.

The first three sets were hotly contested as both sides played effectively, particularly in attack for China and defence from Japan. In the first set China trailed at 0-3 and 4-9, but when the score was at 21-21, China fought hard to clinch the set.

In the second, China lagged behind again and then both sides exchanged leads until at 8-8 China began their lead. Although they lost the third set, China resumed their form in the fourth set and combined attacking, blocking and dropping with a strong service game, winning the final set easily.