The teams traded service errors, and Tijana Bošković’s kill gave Serbia the 15-13 victory to advance to its first ever gold medal match.
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China has taken a roundabout journey to the gold medal game after losing to the Netherlands in the opening match of the preliminary round and sort of backing into the quarterfinals with just a 2-3 record in prelim play.
China’s improbable run to the gold medal match has coach Jenny Lang Ping on the doorstep of volleyball history.
United States of America went into the semi-final match on the back of six straight wins, but were unable to close out a seventh after being three points from victory in the decisive fifth set.
China will move on to play Serbia for gold Thursday evening while the Netherlands will battle US for bronze Thursday afternoon.
Lang Ping also spent time as the coach of the USA women from 2004-08 and guided the team to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Leading no more than three points in the later proved decisive fourth set, the 2015 world cup winners scored a victorious score through Hui’s spike to seal the win.
Serbia are stepping into unknown ground as they had never made the medal round before but along the way they have passed all the tests to be considered bona-fide title contenders.
Ping has brought her team back from the brink and could become the first person in history to win a gold as both a player and coach. After yielding to the Americans in the group stage rounds, the Chinese team faced the back-to-back Olympic champions Brazil in the quarterfinals before edging the European Championships silver medalist Dutch women in the final four.
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Top ranked Team USA looked to continue its undefeated run and advance to its third consecutive title game with a win against No. 6 Serbia, which finished in third place in Pool B and impressively swept Russian Federation in the quarterfinal.
