Cuba outplays China to battle for fifth position

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, September 16, 2017 – Cuba eased past China 4-1 (16-14, 6-15, 15-10, 15-10, 18-16) in the play off 5 to 8 positions in the 2017 FIVB Women’s U23 World Championship here at Hall Tivoli in Ljubljana on Saturday afternoon.

Cuba will battle Brazil for the fifth position, while China play Thailand for the seventh position.

It will be Cuba’s best result at U23 world championships after finishing 9th in 2013 and 11th in 2015. China, on the other hand, cannot not confirm their first (2013) and fifth place (2015) from the two previous competitions.

As usual, Heidy Casanova Alvarez came out as top match scorer with 17 points followed by captain Diaris Perez with 15. China's Jin Ye contributed 11 points as the best for the losers.

Cuba coach Wilfredo Robinson: “Our team’s performance improves from match to match. We play against very strong opponents here in Slovenia. They force us to give our best on the court and that is why our routine improves day by day. Sometimes we still lack of stability – however – we are working on it.”