Ankara, Turkey, August 17, 2015 – The Dominican Republic, Brazil as well as Japan claimed the remaining three semifinal tickets at 2015 FIVB Volleyball U23 Women’s World Championship in Ankara, Turkey. Hosts Turkey were already qualified for Tuesday’s deciding phase of the prestigious women’s U23 competition. Titleholder China, Italy, Bulgaria and Thailand will compete for the places 5-8.
In Tuesday’s semifinals, Dominican Republic will take on Brazil while hosts Turkey will play with Japan. Four continental confederations are still in the race for the title.
The Dominican Republic secured their semifinal spot with a convincing straight-set win (25-22, 25-21, 25-13) over Thailand. Dominican Republic coach Wagner Pacheco said: “We played really well during the preliminary round. Reaching the semifinals was our main goal before coming to Turkey. We are glad to manage this.”
Brazil saw off Bulgaria in straight sets (25-17, 25-8, 30-28) to book – after Turkey – the second semifinal ticket from Pool A. The South Americans showed their power with huge determination. “My players respected our gameplan impeccably”, stated Brazil coach Wagner Coppini. “In the third set, we needed some time to adapt to Bulgaria’s new line-up. We kept calm and believed in our strength.”
Japan beat Peru in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-20) as well to secure the last semifinal spot of 2015 FIVB Volleyball U23 Women’s World Championship. Japan received and attacked well with Arisa Inoue becoming the most scorer by contributing 17 points. “Semifinals will be very tough”, said Inoue. “There will be a very strong audience in the hall. We have to deal with it.”
Titleholder China concluded preliminary round play with their fourth win, defeating Cuba in less than one hour 25-6, 25-8, 25-8. China finish third in Pool B with the same amount of points (12) than Dominican Republic and Japan but an inferior set ratio (12-6 to 13-4).
Hosts Turkey, already qualified for Tuesday’s semifinals, improved their win-loss record to 5-0 by beating Colombia 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-17).
In Pool A’s first match, Italy made a huge comeback against brilliant Egyptians. It needed an extra effort of the Azzurrine to overpower the Africans 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12) on Monday afternoon. It were the two first set wins for Egypt in Ankara.
The 2015 FIVB Volleyball U23 Women’s World Championship will continue on Tuesday with the semifinals 1-4 and the playoff round for the places 5-8. The fifth and sixth ranked teams of the preliminary round have been eliminated.
Top Scorer by Day
23- Li Yao of China v Thailand on August 12
23- Martinez Brayelin Elizabeth of Dominican Republic v Peru on August 12
19- Kokram Pimpichaya of Thailand v Peru on August 13
18- Kubra Akman of Turkey v Brazil on August 14
18- Arisa Inoue of Japan v Thailand on August 14
24- Arisa Inoue of Japan v Dominican Republic on August 15
23- Aya Elshamy of Egypt v Italy on August 17
Top Scoring Performances
24- Arisa Inoue of Japan v Dominican Republic on August 15
23- Li Yao of China v Thailand on August 12
23- Martinez Brayelin Elizabeth of Dominican Republic v Peru on August 12
23- Aya Elshamy of Egypt v Italy on August 17
Top Individual Serving Performances
4- Nakata Shino of Japan v Cuba on August 12
4- Shirai Misaki of Japan v Cuba on August 12
4- Baladin Hande of Turkey v Egypt on August 12
4- Shirai Misaki of Japan v China on August 13
4- Inoue Arisa of Japan v Thailand on August 14
4- Silva Juma of Brazil v Italy on August 15
Top Team Serving Performances
11- China v Cuba on August 17
10- Japan v Cuba on August 12
9- Japan v Thailand on August 14
Top Individual Blocking Performances
7- Sara Bonifacio of Italy v Egypt on August 17
6- Jineiry Martinez of Dominican Republic v Japan on August 15
6- Milena Dimova of Bulgaria v Turkey on August 16
6- Jineiry Martinez of Dominican Republic v Thailand on August 17
Top Team Blocking Performances
17- Turkey v Brazil on August 14
15- Dominican Republic v Japan on August 15
14- China v Japan on August 13
Highest Scoring Sets
30-28 Bulgaria v Colombia (3rd set) on August 13
30-28 Thailand v Cuba (2nd set) on August 15
30-28 Brazil v Italy (1st set) on August 15
30-28 Brazil v Bulgaria (3rd set) on August 17
Highest Scoring Matches
207- Turkey v Bulgaria 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25, 15–8) on August 15
207- Italy v Egypt 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12) on August 17
190- China v Thailand 3-1 (25-27, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23) on August 12
188- China v Japan 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-22, 27-25) on August 13
188- Brazil v Italy 3-1 (30-28, 16-25, 25-19, 25-20) on August 15