Serbia's Jovana Brakocevic celebrates a key point late in the match against Bulgaria
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 24, 2014 – The second day of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship placed some teams in good positions to advance to the second round, while others are now in peril of not moving on.
Dominican improves to 2-0 – Dominican Republic improved to 2-0 in with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-10) victory over Tunisia in Pool A taking place in Rome. Today Dominican Coach Marcos Kwiek changed all players of his teams, which resulted in a one-hour match. Dominican Republic's Gina Mambru scored 12 points with eight successful attacks on 11 attempts. Prisilla Rivera added nine points in the victory. Jemail Kaouthar led Tunisia with 10 points.
Turkey outclasses Canada - Turkey won against Canada 3-0 (25-10, 15-12, 15-17) in the first match of the second day in Pool B at PalaTrieste. Turkey even their record at 1-1, while Canada fall to 1-1. Canada remains winless in their last 15 world championship matches against CEV teams. Turkey’s Ozsoy Neriman topped the winner’s scoring with 16 point followed by Tokatlioglu Seda with 15 points. Canada’s Lucille Charuk led her team with nine points.
USA defeats Kazakhstan in quick turnaround – With just over 12 hours recovery from rallying past Mexico on the opening day, USA beat Kazakhstan in straight sets (25-20, 25-15, 25-22) Wednesday morning in Verona’s Pool C. It is the third time USA beat Kazakhstan in as many meetings. USA’s Kelly Murphy, whose boyfriend and Olympic champion Christian Taylor followed the match in the crowd, was the top scorer with 13 points. Inna Matveyeva was the best contributor on the Kazakhstan’s side with 11 points.
China prevents second Azerbaijan upset – A day after beating No. 3 Japan, Azerbaijan was not able to duplicate the effort in losing to No. 5 China 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-17) on the second day of Pool D in Bari. China’s block was dominant at 15-4 and they out-served Azerbaijan 5-1 in aces. Zeng Chunlei and Hui Ruoqi led China with 14 points each.
Germany rebounds on day - Germany claim their first victory of this year’s World Championship by defeating Argentina 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-14). The victor’s serve kept Argentina off-balance with an 11-2 service ace advantage. Germany captain Margareta Kozuch was the top scorer of the match with 16 points, while Maren Brinker added 13 points. Emilce Sosa paced Argentina with 10 points.
Brazil too much for Cameroon - Brazil overwhelmed Cameroon 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-18) in the second match of day two in Pool B at PalaTrieste. Natalia was the top scorer for Brazil with 18 points, including four aces. Christelle Tchoudjang contributed 13 kills for the Cameroon side. Brazil won for the second time in as many days, while Cameroon lost for the second time.
Russia block effective versus Mexico - Taller Russia beat a spirited Mexico in three sets (25-17, 25-22, 25-13) in Pool C at Verona. Regina Moroz was the top scorer on the Russian team with 13 points, while Andrea Rangel confirmed her value on the Mexican side with a total of 11 points scored. Russia and Mexico met for only the second time at the World Championship and Russia have now won on both occasions.
Japan answers upset on first day – Japan did not allow themselves to be upset a second day in a row as they defeated Belgium 25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 on Wednesday in Pool D at Bari. Yukiko Ebata led the Japanese with 29 points and Saori Kimura added 16 points a day after losing to Azerbaijan. Belgium led 12-6 in blocks and 7-5 in ace, but the Japanese were ahead 63-49 in successful attacks.
Italy sweeps Croatia after early challenge - Italy won 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-11) over Croatia in Pool A to 2-0 while Croatia fall to 1-1. Best spiker of the match was Italian Captain Francesca Piccinini with 9 attack points and a team-high 12 overall points. Costagrande added 11 points in the victory. Best blocker for Italy was Cristina Chirichiella with five successful blocks, Croatia captain Maja Poljak had six blocks as part of team-high 10 points.
Serbia edge Bulgaria for key win – Serbia held off Bulgaria’s challenge in winning 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-12) to improve to 2-0 in the World Championship. Brankica Mihajlovic totaled 31 points in the victory, while teammate Tijana Boskovic added 26 points. Bulgaria was paced by Elitsa Vasileva with 23 points as three other teammates scored in double figures.
Netherlands takes down Thailand - The Netherlands continued their winning performance, beating Thailand 3-0 (25-20, 25-, 25-18) in Verona. Four Dutch players - Celeste Plak, Robin De Kruijf, Judith Pietersen and Anne Buijs – all scored 10 points in this match. Netherlands, now 5-0 all-time against Thailand in the World Championship, have yet to lose a set at this year’s edition.
Puerto Rico claims NORCECA bragging rights over Cuba - Puerto Rico routed Cuba in straight sets (25-22, 27-25, 25-19) on the second day in Bari on Wednesday. For the first time on Pool D, a set has ended to advantage-points. Puerto Rico won both matches against Cuba in the 2014 World Grand Prix (at home).