China beats Chinese Taipei, makes Asian Championship quarters unbeaten

China completed a 100% win record in the group stage at the Asian Women's Volleyball Championship with a commanding 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in Tianjin on Wednesday, advancing to the quarterfinals without dropping a set.

The hosts, aiming to win the competition for the first time since 2015, won 25-17, 25-16, 25-7 to finish top of Pool A with three straight victories.

China also got past tournament newcomers Iraq and then Iran in straight sets.

China secured the No.

1 seed for the knockout stage and will face Vietnam in the last eight on Friday.

Wu Mengjie returned to the starting lineup after recovering from injury, joining Zhuang Yushan as outside hitter.

China made a slow start and trailed 4-1 in the opening set, but quickly turned the contest around with a five-point run before pulling clear to take the set 25-17.

Chinese Taipei stayed within reach early in the second set, but the home side established control late on to win 25-16.

China then raced into an 8-1 advantage in the third set and used several substitutions before wrapping up the match 25-7.

Wu and Zhuang led China with 13 points apiece, while captain Gong Xiangyu contributed 10.

The team held a 40-25 advantage in attack points and dominated at the net with an 11-1 edge in blocks.

China's three straight-set wins gave them the best overall ranking after the group stage.

Japan also won all three of their matches without dropping a set, but ranked behind China on points ratio.

China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and Vietnam make up the quarterfinal field.