USA have won their sixth FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix title
Lausanne, Switzerland, July 28, 2015 - The United States became the first team to win the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix on home soil, after a sweep of their matches in the finals in Omaha, Nebraska.
USA have won the World Grand Prix for the sixth time, after 1995, 2001, 2010, 2011 and 2012; next to the gold medal record of Brazil, which have won the tournament for 10 times. USA’s victory in Omaha is a positive follow-up to their consecutive title victories from 2010 to 2012.
USA claimed their eighth World Grand Prix medal, which matched Cuba’s medal record of eight, after China, Russia and Brazil, which won more medals in the tournament. In 11 of the last 12 seasons, only USA and Brazil have won titles within the period, and the only exception in this streak was the victory of the Netherlands in 2007.
Russia finished in second place to add to their five silver medals – 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009 - in the World Grand Prix, which surpassed the silver medal records of China and Brazil. In 2014, Russia took the bronze medal, marking this year as the first time that they have claimed back-to-back World Grand Prix podium finishes since a streak of eight from 1996 to 2003.
The strong finish of Russia in this edition can be attributed to the prolific scoring performance of Nataliya Goncharova, who was the top scorer of the competition with 271 points, nearly a hundred points more than USA’s Karsta Lowe, who had 186 points.
Meanwhile, Brazil are on unfamiliar podium spot as they finished the World Grand Prix in third place. The Brazilian squad finished on the podium for the eighth time in succession, but it was their first third place finish in this streak since 2000.