With Serbia boasting a front row of Brankica Mihajlovic, Ivana Djerisolo and Maja Ognjenovic that amounted to just shy of 20 feet in height, China were never going to win too many points at the net early on and so it proved as they lost the first set 25-16.

But the Serbian resilience started to tire quickly in the second set and, with libero Xian Zhang cleaning up well on the floor, China got some momentum and edged it 25-18.

They took the third 25-13 and, with Serbia clearly frustrated at the loss of their early rhythm, the fourth set was over almost as soon as it began, China winning it 25-12.

Captain Quiyue Wei was satisfied with how her side acclimatised after a troublesome start.

‘The whole team adapted quickly. We feel that the last three sets were excellent,’ she said.

‘Serbia came out with a couple of players we did not expect to play. We were not used to them and it took time to adapt That’s why we were a bit slow at the beginning.’