Lausanne, Switzerland, July 17, 2015 - Russia secure the spot in the Final Six and now it is down to Serbia, Japan and Germany to get the last place and close up the squad of the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix finals.
Key points:
- Russia secured the spot in the Final Six after the victory over Italy
- Serbia, Japan and Germany are still having a chance to get the last place in the finals
- Brazil, China and Serbia without a set loss this weekend thus far
- Germany and Serbia will compete for the finals in the direct encounter on Saturday
A few intense sets brought an answer about the last teams standing to reach the final round in Omaha, USA.
In pool G, Russia proved to have a nerves of steel and made a great come-back in the 4th set to win it 30-28 and close the game 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 30-28) against Italy. Earlier in the day Brazil gave no chances to Belgium, defeating the Yellow Tigers 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-23).
In Hong Kong, USA opened the day in pool H playing against Thailand. Thai kept fighting, but Americans overpowered them winning 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-16). China recorded another straight set win against Japan with the score 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-17).
Back in Europe, pool I in Stuttgart presented the spectators with a first tie-breaker this weekend. A thrilling match ended with a victory of Turkey 3-2 (20-25, 28-26, 31-29, 14-25, 18-16) over Germany. Serbia stepped in next, with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-16) win over Dominican Republic, improving their chances for the finals.Germany and Serbia will compete for the finals in the direct encounter on Saturday
Pool G:
Pool H:
Pool I:
Top scoring performances:
26 - Polen Uslupehlivan of Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
24 - Karsta Lowe of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
20 - Jennifer Geerties of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
20 - Guldeniz Onal of Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
19 - Wiebke Silge of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
19 - Maren Brinker of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
18 - Anja Brandt of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
17 - Margareta Kozuch of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
17 - Indre Sorokaite of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
17 - Natalia Pereira of Brazil vs Belgium (pool G)
16 - Nataliya Goncharova of Russia vs Italy (pool G)
16 - Zeng Chunlei of China vs Japan (pool H)
15 - Caterina Bosetti of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
15 - Kseniia Ilchenko of Russia vs Italy (pool G)
15 - Lauren Gibbermeyer of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
15 - Kelsey Robinson of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
15 - Onuma Sittirak of Thailand vs USA (pool H)
14 - Natalia Malykh of Russia vs Italy (pool G)
13 - Yana Shcherban of Russia vs Italy (pool G)
13 - Kubra Akman of Turkey vs Serbia (pool I)
12 - Valentina Tirozzi of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
12 - Wilavan Apinyapong of Thailand vs USA (pool H)
12 - Erasma Martinez of Dominican Republic vs Serbia (pool I)
12 - Marta Drpa of Serbia vs Dominican Republic (pool I)
12 - Zhu Ting of China vs Japan (pool G)
11 - Yang Junjing of China vs Japan (pool G)
11 - Miyu Nagaoka of Japan vs China (pool G)
11 - Pleumjit Thinkaow of Thailand vs USA (pool H)
11 - Tetori Dixon of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
10 - Kimberly Hill of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
10 - Laura Heyrman of Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
10 - Charlotte Leys of Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
10 - Cristina Chirichella of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
10 - Irina Fetisova of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
Top scoring performances by team:
121 - Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
111 - Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
100 - Russia vs Italy (pool G)
98 - USA vs Thailand (pool H)
93 - Italy vs Russia (pool G)
80 - Thailand vs USA (pool H)
75 - Serbia vs Dominican Republic (pool I)
75 - Brazil vs Belgium (pool G)
75 - China vs Japan (pool H)
50 - Japan vs China (pool H)
54 - Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
Top blocking performances:
8 - Irina Fetisova of Russia vs Italy (pool G)
7 - Kubra Akman of Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
5 - Jennifer Geerties of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
5 - Wiebke Silge of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
5 - Lauren Gibbemeyer of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
4 - Anja Brandt of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
4 - Nur Yurtdagulen of Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
4 - Marta Drpa of Serbia vs Dominican Republic (pool I)
4 - Zeng Chunlei of China vs Japan (pool H)
3 - Martina Guiggi of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
3 - Cristina Chirichella of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
3 - Marifranchi Rodriguez of Dominican Republic vs Serbia (pool I)
3 - Cristina Barreto of Brazil vs Belgium (pool G)
3 - Carolina da Silva of Brazil vs Belgium (pool G)
3 - Tetori Dixon of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
3 - Kelsey Robinson of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
2 - Ofelia Malinov of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
2 - Ekaterina Lyubushkina of Russia vs Italy (pool G)
2 - Polen Uslupehlivan of Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
2 - Onuma Sittirak of Thailand vs USA (pool H)
2 - Laura Heyrman of Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
2 - Freya Aelbrecht of Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
2 - Els Vandesteene of Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
2 - Yan Ni of China vs Japan (pool H)
2 - Zhu Ting of China vs Japan (pool H)
2 - Haruyo Shimamura of Japan vs China (pool H)
2 - Bojana Zivkovic of Serbia vs Dominican Republic (pool I)
Top blocking performances by team:
19 - Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
16 - Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
14 - Russia vs Italy (pool G)
14 - USA vs Thailand (pool H)
11 - Italy vs Russia (pool G)
10 - Serbia vs Dominican Republic (pool I)
10 - China vs Japan (pool H)
9 - Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
7 - Brazil vs Belgium (pool G)
5 - Thailand vs USA (pool H)
5 - Dominican Republic vs Serbia (pool I)
Top serving performances:
3 - Anja Brandt of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
3 - Zeng Chunlei of China vs Japan (pool H)
2 - Ekaterina Kosianenko of Russia vs Italy (pool G)
2 - Indre Sorokaite of Italy vs Russia (pool G)
2 - Bojana Zivkovic of Serbia vs Dominican Republic (pool I)
2 - Wiebke Silge of Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
2 - Seyma Ercan of Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
2 - Charlotte Leys of Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
2 - Kimberly Hill of USA vs Thailand (pool H)
2 - Hattaya Bamrungsuk of Thailand vs USA (pool H)
Top serving performances by team:
7 - Germany vs Turkey (pool I)
6 - USA vs Thailand (pool H)
5 - Russia vs Italy (pool G)
5 - Italy vs Russia (pool G)
5 - Thailand vs USA (pool H)
5 - Turkey vs Germany (pool I)
4 - Serbia vs Dominican Republic (pool I)
4 - Brazil vs Belgium (pool G)
3 - Belgium vs Brazil (pool G)
3 - China vs Japan (pool H)
Highest set score:
Germany vs Turkey, 26-28 and 29-31 (pool I)
Russia vs Italy, 30-28 (pool G)
Highest match score:
Turkey vs Germany 3-2 (20-25, 28-26, 31-29, 14-25, 18-16)