Henan volleyball rising stars face Jiangsu team in Nanyang

Following a 3-1 victory over Fujian, Henan Tianguan volleyball team will compete with its Jiangsu counterpart at Nanyang Sports Center on Nov 19, to open the fourth round of the group stage for the 2017-2018 China Men's Volleyball Super League.

China Volleyball Super League is the top-level volleyball event in the country. The new season, which lasts from Nov 5, 2017 to Apr 26, 2018, is seeing 14 domestic teams from different provinces and cities compete across four stages, including groups, qualifying, cross-matches and finals.

Placed in Group B, Henan Tianguan faces off against Beijing, Sichuan, Liaoning, Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangsu in the group stage. In total, six games will be held at the city's sports center. In the previous two away games, Henan Guanguan obtained one win and one loss.

For the team, the new season is full of challenges and opportunities after a major reshuffle. Two core players, Cui Jianjun and Jiao Shuai, will no longer participate in the league as athletes, while veterans such as Wang Chunlin and Sun Kai will also leave the team.

In the new lineup, young players such as Li Yize and Sun Zuiqian, are expected to serve as chief spikers and shoulder more responsibility. Veteran Liu Heng will join hands with young player, Yang Xueshuai, to act as setters.

According to Liang Jie, head coach of Henan Tianguan, the main purpose of the competition is to tryout young players but not push them too much. The goal is to be listed among the top eight, so that the team can get the chance to pit skills with those powerhouses.

After changing the name into its present form, China Volleyball League is officially entering a super era and getting one step closer to standardization, marketization and professionalization with the improvement in match schedules, foreign expert recruitment and satellite transmission technology of matches.