China demolished Cuba in three straight sets while Russia sets up a battle against the United States for the top spot of Pool C of the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Italy on Saturday.

China won their fourth straight match against Cuba 25-15, 25-11, 25-18 at the Palaflorio Hall in Bari.

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Ting Zhu was unstoppable in her attacks as she gathered 18 points to lead the Chinese nationals, 13 points coming from attacks and five block points followed by Xinyue Yuan with 15 points while team captain Caridad Linares top scored for Cuba with 14 points.

The much taller Chinese team took advantage of their height at the net as they made a total of 13 block points against to the three of Cuba. They also racked in eight service aces compared to the two of the opponent.

"We have grown a lot through these last matches," China coach Jenny Lang Ping said. "I let some of the girls rest on purpose because we need all the strength we can get. We will think about Japan tonight."

China is alone on top of Pool D's leader board with 12 points, winning all of their matches without dropping a set.

They now face second placer Japan in their final qualifying match who surprised them during their finals matchup during the recent World Grand Prix.

In Pool C, defending champions Russia dropped the first set but cruised through the next three sets to win against the Netherlands 19-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-16.

Tatiana Kosheleva led the Russian squad with 20 points followed by Ekaterina Gamova with 17 points while Judith Pietersen top scored for the Netherlands with 15 points.

Russia record remains unblemished and now faces another undefeated team in second seed USA at the final day of the qualifying rounds that will determine who will take the top spot.

In Pool A, host nation Italy remains undefeated with 12 points followed by the Dominican Republic while top seed Brazil hangs on to the No. 1 position along with Serbia with 11 points.

The top 16 teams from all Pools will proceed to the next round to play another batch of round-robin and the top six teams will then move on to the final round.

TagsTing Zhu, Xinyue Yuan, Jenny Lang Ping, Tatiana Kosheleva, Ekaterina Gamova