The Japanese women's volleyball team was devastated by the Chinese women's volleyball team, with Li Yingying transforming into an "iron hammer" and Cai Bin deserving of the "Little Zhuge" competition | Chinese women's volleyball team | Zhuge

On June 4th, 2023, Beijing time, at the Nagoya stage of the 2023 World Women's Volleyball League, the Chinese women's volleyball team staged a major comeback in the second inning, ultimately defeating the host Japanese women's volleyball team 3-0, ending the first round with a four game winning streak. At present, the Chinese women's volleyball team ranks second only to the Polish women's volleyball team on the points table.

In this match, the Chinese women's volleyball team used the starting lineup from the first three matches, with main attacking Li Yingying and Wang Yunlu, secondary attacking Yuan Xinyue and Wang Yuanyuan, receiving Gong Xiangyu, second setter Diao Linyu, and free agent Wang Mengjie. The starting lineup of the Japanese women's volleyball team is mainly composed of Koga Sarina and Inoue Arisa, with secondary attacks including Masayi Ze and Cai Hua Araki, followed by Lin Qinna, second pass Guan Caicai Si, and free agent Mimi Nishimura.

The Chinese women's volleyball team is fully prepared for this game, entering the first inning quickly and performing well in the first pass, blocking, attacking and other aspects, with a score of 25-18 and taking the next game.

In the second round, the competition between the two sides intensified. The Japanese women's volleyball team utilized the changes in serving in the front and back areas to mobilize a pass from the Chinese women's volleyball team, which was disrupted by the opponent's rhythm and failed to seize multiple opportunities for counterattacks. The maximum lead margin of the Japanese women's volleyball team reached 6 points at one point. At this moment, Cai Bin decisively chose to switch players, replacing the second setter Xu Xiaoting and the main attacker Zhong Hui. Zhong Hui and Li Yingying's two strong serves directly caused the Japanese women's volleyball team to make consecutive mistakes. The Chinese women's volleyball team kept a close eye on the score and equalized it to 22 at the end of the game. Although the Japanese women's volleyball team took the lead in winning the game, the Chinese women's volleyball team still relied on Yuan Xinyue's strong blocking and strong serve to achieve a comeback.

In the third round, the score between the two sides was also very tight, with a draw of 25 at one point. The Chinese women's volleyball team had a better grasp of key points and ultimately secured the victory with a score of 27-25.

A complete victory of 3-0, with ups and downs in the process. Especially in the reversal of the second round, Cai Bin's substitution was effective at a critical moment, stabilizing the pace and fully demonstrating the firm determination and confidence of the Chinese women's volleyball team. In contrast, the mentality of the Japanese women's volleyball team has changed, they have become disorganized and missed the opportunity to regain points.

Head coach

Last year, when Cai Bin took over as the coach of his predecessor Lang Ping, the Chinese women's volleyball team was experiencing a low point of failure at the Tokyo Olympics, and his task was to lead the Chinese women's volleyball team on the journey of the 2024 Paris Olympics cycle. Cai Bin has served as the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team for a long time, and in 2009, he took over as the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team. He has a rich coaching experience and is very familiar with Chinese women's volleyball.

In terms of coaching style, Cai Bin focuses on technical details, seeks versatility in tactics, and often provides targeted tactical guidance based on the situation on the field. He himself is also known as "Little Zhuge". He once led the Shanghai women's volleyball team to create a glorious "five consecutive championships"; Winning the league championship and the gold medal at the National Games for the Jiangsu women's volleyball team. During her tenure as the head coach of the Jiangsu women's volleyball team, Cai Bin has always insisted on building a team of all Chinese teams and cultivating a group of outstanding players for the national team. At present, Gong Xiangyu, Diao Linyu, and Ni Feifan from the national team are all from the Jiangsu women's volleyball team.

This Chinese women's volleyball team is being branded as the "Cai Family Army". Cai Bin's coaching focuses on showcasing the characteristics of players and strengthening their speed and versatility. In Cai Bin's tactical system, the offensive ability of the secondary attack is very important. Only when the secondary attack is launched can the pressure on the main attack be reduced. Faced with the tenacious defense of the Japanese women's volleyball team, the Chinese women's volleyball team also avoids making a small attack and strives for more opportunities in the distribution of ball rights. The progress of deputy attacker Wang Yuanyuan is also visible to the naked eye, becoming an important scoring point for the team.

Main attack

According to the technical statistics of this match, Li Yingying, the main attacker of the Chinese women's volleyball team, scored 20 points and once again became the top scorer of the game; Vice attacker Yuan Xinyue scored 11 points, vice attacker Wang Yuanyuan scored 11 points, and received Gong Xiangyu scored 9 points.

During the competition, there was a scene where Li Yingying jumped high from position four and made a diagonal dunk, directly hitting the Japanese women's volleyball team captain Koga Sarina who was close to the net. The latter fell to the ground in response, stood up and covered her eyes. Li Yingying greeted her opponent as soon as possible. This is an accident during the game, which shows the strength of Li Yingying's spike and the cunning of her line. Although Li Yingying is still inferior to Zhu Ting at her peak in terms of absolute height and adjusting strong attacks. But Li Yingying has her own advantages and comprehensive skills, and her shooting speed is faster. As the most stable and trustworthy attacking point of the entire team, Li Yingying's "Iron Hammer" showcased the momentum of the Chinese women's volleyball team.

After defeating Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan in a row, Chinese women's volleyball team girls gained confidence and tested their previous training results with practical experience. From June 13th to July 2nd, the Chinese women's volleyball team will continue to compete in the Hong Kong and Suwon tournaments in South Korea, competing against strong teams such as Italy and Serbia.