Chinese players celebrate after beating Azerbaijan 3-1 at their first Pool B match of the Women's Volleyball World Championships in Sapporo, Japan October 31, 2006. As the Olympic champions, the Chinese women's team proved a class above their Europe opponents, winning by 25-23, 24-26, 25-16 and 25-22 in less than two hours.

Natalya Mammadova led the game with 20 spikes, two blocks and one serves for Azerbaijan, while Yelena Shabovta added 16 points. Azerbaijan displayed plenty of world-class spikes and blockings but were unable to turn their effort into victory. After leading with 17-14 in the opening set, China continued their steadily performance to take the lead with 25-23.

Then China had a 4-0 run with Wang Yimei and Yang Hao leading from the front, but their opponents refused to concede, battling back with renewed vigor and eventually taking the set with 26-24 to level the match at 1-1. The Chinese team eventually prevailed after losing the second set as they established a 16-9 lead in the third with powerful serving and attackings.