MACAO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The knockout stage of senior women's volleyball at China's National Games kicked off here on Monday, as in-form Jiangsu swept Liaoning aside while defending champion Tianjin was stunned by Fujian.

Fourteen teams were divided into two groups, with the top four of each group securing the quarterfinals spots.

Having finished Group A with a perfect record, Jiangsu continued its momentum by easing past Liaoning 25-14, 25-18, 25-20, and their captain Gong Xiangyu owed it to its preparation work before the game.

"It is a one-off game, both teams battled it out in the serving and receiving areas. We did well on defending and blocking, and the victory over traditional powerhouse Liaoning boosted our confidence for the rest games," Gong said.

Fujian needed two hours and nine minutes to upset Tianjin 29-27, 20-25, 25-18, 29-27, setting up a clash against Jiangsu. Tianjin had a 26-25 lead in the fourth set and forced a timeout but Fujian responded with a 4-1 run to seal the victory.

Also on Monday, Shanghai beat a sluggish Henan side who featured star player Zhu Ting, 25-19, 25-19, 25-17.

"We all know it is hard to neutralize an international player like Zhu, but we successfully limited the other five players," Shanghai's coach Wang Zhiteng outlined the key to the victory.

In a late fixture on Monday, Shandong dominated Beijing 25-14, 25-17, 25-13 and will take on Shanghai in the semifinals. Enditem