Jaqueline celebrates World No. 1 Brazil's straight-set win over China on Wednesday
Milano, Italy, October 8, 2014 – World No. 1 Brazil and hosts Italy made huge steps towards the semifinals in their opening matches of the third round at FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Italy 2014 on Wednesday. The reigning Olympic champions thundered past China 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15), while Italy - in front of 11,500 thrilled fans at Mediolanum Forum in Milano - kept the upper hand over the United States, also in straights sets 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20).
Brazil cruised past China 3-0 in the opening match of Round III at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championships. Thaisa, Jaqueline and Fe Garay led Brazil to an undisputed win with 15 points each. Brazil had 11 blocks, China only two. The best Chinese scorer was Ting Zhu with 10 kills.
The reigning Olympic champions need only one set on Friday against the Dominican Republic to qualify for Saturday's semifinals. China, on the other hand, will need to beat the Dominican Republic on Thursday - nothing short of a victory is any good for the Asian side. Brazil remained undefeated in ten matches in the competition. For China, it was their second defeat at the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Italy 2014.
In a repeat of their title win in the final 12 years ago, Italy beat USA 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) in Wednesday’s second match of Round III. In a tremendous performance, Italy came from behind in the first two sets to overpower USA in straight sets. Antonella Del Core led the Italians with 15 points.
The hosts need only one set against Russia on Friday to qualify for Saturday's semifinals. USA play their last card on Thursday against Russia with a win their only option. It was the second straight and overall defeat for USA at these World Championships, after their loss to Brazil on the closing day of Round II.
Six matches are played during the third phase of the tournament, running from October 8-10 at Milano’s Mediolanum Forum - with two pools of three teams each: Pool G: Italy, USA, Russia; Pool H: Brazil, China, Dominican Republic. The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semifinals.
The third round of the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship will resume on Thursday with the second competition day of Round III.
Pool G: Italy, USA, Russia
Pool H: Brazil, China, Dominican Republic
Pool G
Pool H
Brazil-China / 3-0 /
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TOP PERFORMANCES
Top scorer by day
Polina Rahimova- 33 of Azerbaijan v Japan on 23-9-14
Brankica Mihajlovic- 31 of Serbia v Bulgaria on 24-9-14
Polina Rahimova- 32 of Azerbaijan v Puerto Rico on 25-9-14
Lise Van Hecke- 23 of Belgium v Azerbaijan on 27-9-14
Tatiana Kosheleva-31 of Russia v USA on 28-9-14
Bethania De La Cruz De Peña-30 of Dominican Republic v Belgium and
Lise Van Hecke-30 of Belgium v Dominican Republic on 1-10-14
Tatiana Kosheleva-32 of Russia v Turkey on 2-10-14
Bethania De La Cruz De Peña-37 of Dominican Republic v China on 4-10-14
Bethania De La Cruz De Peña-25 of Dominican Republic v Japan and
Vasileva Elitsa-25 of Bulgaria v Netherlands on 5-10-14
Antonella Del Core-15 of Italy v USA on 8-10-14 and
Thaisa-15 of Brazil v China on 8-10-14 and
Jaqueline-15 of Brazil v China on 8-10-14 and
Fe Garay-15 of Brazil v China on 8-10-14
Top scoring performances
37- Bethania De La Cruz De Peña of Dominican Republic v China on 4-10-14
36- Polina Rahimova of Azerbaijan v Croatia on 4-10-14
33- Polina Rahimova of Azerbaijan v Japan on 23-9-14
32- Polina Rahimova of Azerbaijan v Puerto Rico on 25-9-14
32- Tatiana Kosheleva of Russia v Turkey on 2-10-14
Top blocking performances
10- Kubra Akman of Turkey v Bulgaria on 25-9-14
9- Zhu Ting of China v Japan on 28-9-14
Top serving performances
6- Regla Gracia Gonzalez of Cuba v Azerbaijan on 29-9-14
5- Mizuho Ishida of Japan v Azerbaijan on 23-9-14
5- Margareta Kozuch of Germany v Croatia on 28-9-14
Top team blocking performances
24- Brazil v Turkey on 27-9-14
19- China v Japan on 28-9-14
Top team serving performances
13- Azerbaijan v Croatia on 4-10-14
13- Croatia v Tunisia on 27-9-14
12- Germany v Croatia on 28-9-14
Highest scoring sets
36-34 Thailand v Mexico (2nd set) on 25-9-14
34-32 USA v Russia (1st set) on 28-9-14
32-30 Netherlands v Mexico (1st set) on 28-9-14
Highest scoring matches
220- USA v Russia 3-1 (34-32, 25-19, 29-31, 26-24) on 28-9-14
218- Azerbaijan v Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 26-24, 16-25, 17-15) on 25-9-14
218- Croatia v Dominican Republic 2-3 (22-25, 13-25, 25-22, 26-24, 17-19) on 25-9-14
218- Turkey v Russia 3-2 (19-25, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22, 15-13) on 2-10-14