Macao, China, 2 August 2013- China and the Netherlands opened their 2013 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix campaign with wins over Bulgaria and Cuba respectively.

The Netherlands won the first match in Pool D in straight sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-11) against a young Cuba side. The Netherlands started the match strongly with their middle hitting, which gave them an early lead.  Cuba head coach Juan Carlos Gala Rodriguez then made a timely timeout call and tried to change things round by reinforcing his team’s wing attacks, and his team were able to cut down the point deficit.  The Netherlands, though, prevailed in the closely-fought first set with the help of some strong attacks.  From then on it became a one-sided match - poor passing and unforced errors by Cuba swayed the match away from them and the Netherlands came through with their excellent block and wing hitting game.

China, led by their legendary coach Lang Ping, also recorded a straight-set win (25-13, 26-24 and 25-23) over World Grand Prix debutant Bulgaria.  Backed by an enthusiastic home crowd, China stunned a nervous Bulgaria team in the first set with some spectacular wing hitting.  Zhu Ting, the MVP of the 2013 FIVB Women's Junior World Championship in June, was particularly impressive and Wang Yimei also showed signs of form after her recent injury.  However, Bulgaria were not prepared to go down without a fight, and they managed to take a lead in the second set with their effective fast-paced attack and strong serves.  China, though, battled back and drew even before closing out the set 26-24.  In the third set, China managed to build an early lead but Bulgaria refused to give up by strengthening their wing attacks and blocks.  Zhu Ting finally finished the seesaw battle with a kill to give China the win.

The second match day of Pool D sees Bulgaria seeking their first win in World Grand Prix against the Netherlands at 14:30, while China hopes to continue their winning start against Cuba at 17:00.