China crumbled to a second successive defeat on the second day of the FIVB women's World Grand Prix finals.
After losing 3-2 to Cuba in an opening-day thriller, China went down tamely 3-0 to Italy yesterday for the second time in five confidence-shattering days.
The Italians, who had beaten China in preliminary round action in Hong Kong on Sunday, swept aside the Olympic champions 25-16, 25-21, 25-22 in just 67 minutes.
In the day's other action, defending World Grand Prix champions Brazil came back from 2-1 down in sets to beat Cuba 3-2 in a fast-paced, power-packed spike fest, while Japan recorded their first win in the six-team tournament by beating the Netherlands 3-1.
Going into today's rest day, Italy and Brazil both hold 2-0 win-loss records, followed by Cuba and Japan on 1-1 and China and the Netherlands on 0-2.
Tomorrow, Italy will play Cuba, the Dutch will face China with both teams looking for their first win, and Brazil will take on Japan in the evening showpiece.