BEILUN, China, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The coach of China men's volleyball team Raul Lozano said he was glad to see his team kick off their FIVB men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) campaign on home soil here on Thursday.
China will play against Bulgaria, Argentina and the United States in the event on May 25-27 here in China's Zhejiang province, while 16 teams will make their debuts to the new formula of world league on sites all over the world.
"I am glad to start the tournament on home soil. In this tournament we will meet many strong squads in the world, most of them rank top 10. It's a great opportunity to show our positive side on home soil, so I expect my players to have a great performance," he said.
New captain for team China Ji Daoshuai also expects they can accumulate experience through this tournament.
"It's our first official game this year, we will cherish this opportunity to play against strong teams. I hope we can play more games like this to improve our level."
United States coach John Speraw said the last time they played games in China was in 2009, so the whole team were excited to play volleyball this week.
"We have a wonderful opportunity in this tournament to play against a number of different countries around the world and play with great volleyball teams. This week we will take on three teams with three different styles. I am glad to see how our team adapt through this tournament," he said. Enditem
