The second round of the FIVB Women’s World Championships continues, with the U.S., Italy, Serbia and the Netherlands all still undefeated after two of four games.
In Pool E in Nagoya (JPN), Serbia swept Germany (3-0) and the Netherlands did the same to the Dominican Republic to stay at the top the group. Japan continued its great play at home, beating Puerto Rico in straight sets. The standings:
∙ Pool E: 1. Serbia (21 points: 7-0); 2. Netherlands (20: 7-0); 3. Japan (18: 6-1); 4. Brazil (16: 5-2); 5. Germany (11: 4-3); 6. Dominican Republic (10: 3-4); 7. Puerto Rico (6: 2-5); 8. Mexico (3: 1-6).
The Netherlands and Brazil, and Serbia and Japan play on Wednesday (10th), and the Serbia-Netherlands match comes on Thursday (11th).
In Pool F in Osaka, the U.S. cruised by Turkey by a 3-0 count, and Italy swept Thailand, 3-0. China swept its match with Azerbaijan and Russia defeated Bulgaria, 3-1, so four teams are in the mix for the three qualifying places in the finals:
∙ Pool F: 1. Italy (21 points: 7-0): 2. United States (19: 7-0); 3. China (18: 6-1); 4. Russia (18: 6-1); 5. Thailand (10: 3-4); 6. Turkey (9: 3-4); 7. Bulgaria (6: 2-5); 8. Azerbaijan (6: 2-6).
Showdowns: Italy and Russia play on Wednesday (10th), as does China and the U.S. The Italy-U.S. and China-Russia matches come on Thursday (11th).
The Serbs continue to pitch a shut-out in the tournament with an 21-0 sets record, followed by Italy (21-1), then the Netherlands (21-3) and the U.S. (21-5).
The top scorers in the tournament so far are Louisa Lippmann (GER) with 140 points, Polina Rahimova (AZE, 132) and Lonneke Sloetjes (NED, 126). The most effective hitter is still Italy’s Miryam Fatime Sylla, scoring on 57.85% of her attempts (70/121).
The second round-robin will determine the final pool of six (top three from each second-round pool). Look for scores and standings here.
