The FIVB Volleyball Grand Prix Macao 2014 kicked off today at the Macao Forum, where Japan and China recorded their first wins of the weekend against Serbia and Korea respectively.

In the first match of Pool I, Japan defeated Serbia 3-1 (25-17, 10-25, 25-17, 25-19) to even their FIVB World Grand Prix record with Serbia at 2-2.

Top performers for Japan included Yukiko Ebata, who led their offense with 24 points, Sayaka Tsutsui’s 19 digs figured in their defence. Milena Rasic led Serbia with nine kills while Brankica Mihajlovic added two aces.

Serbia did not have an answer for the Japanese block in the first set, allowing the Japanese to establish an early 8-2 lead. Their strong backcourt defence also ensured that the Serbians would not gain their momentum on offense. Japan secured the first set 25-17.

Serbia responded in the second set, jumping to a 7-1 lead, which they extended to 16-5 at the second technical timeout. Serbia played extremely well at the net and had a good run on Mihajlovic’s powerful jump serve that gave the Japanese passers more than they could handle. The Serbian attack kept the Japanese defenders off-balance throughout the set, which helped them to clinch the set 25-10.

Japan returned to top form to take the lead in the third set, with the help of some miscues from the Serbian side. Frustrations grew on the Serbian bench that led to a red card for coach Zoran Terzic. Japan hit the right buttons to claim the third set win 25-17.

Japan continued with its consistent play in the fourth set to get a comfortable 16-10 advantage at the second technical timeout. Serbia fought back with a number of strong blocks but which came too late as the Japanese maintained their lead until they reached the end of the set at 25-19.

China then defeated Korea 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19) to capture its tenth victory out of thirteen meetings with Korea in Grand Prix play.

Both teams started slowly but it was the Koreans who pulled ahead in set one due to some terrific defense. Korea led 16-12 at the second technical timeout but the Chinese rallied to tie the match at 24-24 before the Koreans took the final two points to close out the set.

China came out much improved in set two especially with their service game. The Korean serve receive struggled throughout, allowing the Chinese to keep the lead throughout the set.

The third set was a battle as both teams fought to gain control of the match, with Korea taking the lead 8-7 at the first technical timeout. To make matters worse for the Chinese, setter Wei Qiuyue left the game with an injury. Wang Na came off the bench to set, leading China to a 16-12 advantage at the second technical timeout.

The Chinese never looked back, leading the Koreans by at least three points for the remainder of the set. The Chinese continued their strong play in set four and stayed ahead of their opponents throughout the set. Korean captain Kim Yeon-Koung completed a huge backcourt kill to bring her team to within three points late in the set.When the Korean’s got within two points, Zhu Ting responded for China with a massive kill from the outside to restore the three point lead.

Hui Ruoqi led the Chinese with 23 kills while Shan Danna added 10 digs. Kim Yeon-Koung led Korea with 27 kills and 1 ace.

Korea plays Japan tomorrow, which will be a re-match of the bronze medal match at the 2012 Olympics. China plays Serbia in the late match, which will be the fifth meeting of these teams in Grand Prix play.