Jenny Lang Ping leads China to surprising resurgence(2)

"Jenny has played the most important role in the coaching team," he said. "She is a world class coach and has been doing a great job."

Pan was especially impressed by the young players including teenager stars Zhu Ting and Yuan Xinyue. The 19-year-old Zhu was included in the World Championship Dream Team as outside spiker and Yuan was also one of the stars of the tournament as she made her debut as middle blocker.

"The young players have improved very quickly under Jenny's guidance and I think they will help bring a brighter future to our team."

The impressive performance of the Chinese team at the World Championship also helped remove the pressure Jenny faced after the team's disappointing fourth place finish at the Asian Championship last autumn and she is now determined to stick to her way of coaching, adding youth and continuing to develop the side into world beaters.

"I will continue to recruit young talented players and give them opportunities to play for the national team," she asserted. "Our second string players have done a good job at the Asian Games, winning the silver also. Quite a few players from that team have participated in our training camp early this year. The more players we can use, the better our future will be."

The 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship have also witnessed many teams record their best ever performance.

USA, who were crowned the new world champions in Italy, had never won gold before in the tournament. Their amazing first place improved on their previous best of second - which the Americans had achieved twice, in 1967 and 2002. USA have now become one of only six countries to have claimed FIVB trophies with the others being Russia (including the Soviet Union), Japan, Cuba, China and Italy.

"We came here to make history and we made it," said USA coach Karch Kiraly.

"It feels really good, it's awesome. I am so proud of these people I work with in this program every day. The 50 athletes who wore a USA uniform this year at some point and all the contributions they made and make on a daily basis."

The Dominican Republic have truly shattered all their historical records, rising high above any expectations and astonishing even their most optimistic of fans.

The "Queens of the Caribbean" came within one set of a semifinal berth when they led China 2-0 (and just needed to win by any score) in their last match of Round 3. They finished fifth, a huge leap from their previous best of 11th in 1998. They were 17th in the last two editions.

Third place for Brazil, though, was a disappointment for the Olympic champions. The South Americans were chasing the only major title that still eludes them. They lost to Russia twice in tie-breaks in their previous two attempts in 2006 and 2010 and riding on the momentum of their 2012 Olympic gold, they were tipped as favorites to win the World Championships this time around. The bronze medal they ended up with doesn't improve on their previous bests.

The success of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship 2014 is proof that the sport is heading in the right direction according to President Dr. Ary S. Graca.

"The global spread of volleyball has been made evident by the Championships this year - which have been the most successful in FIVB history," he said.

"The fact that world No. 10 the Dominican Republic got so far through the competition demonstrates how the sport is developing beyond the usual stars in Russia and Brazil. We are seeing new stars emerging all the time from every corner of the world and this assures me that we are heading in the right direction as a federation."

He also said that volleyball is in fine health as the sport begins to turn its attention to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

"After over 50 years, volleyball will be coming home to Rio in 2016, where fans will see the sport's most spectacular show yet - both in our fully-packed stadiums and on Rio's iconic Copacabana beach."