2018 FIVB Women’s World Championships
- Sept. 29-Oct. 20, 2018
- Yokohama, Sapporo, Kobe and Hamamatsu, Japan
- Pool A: #6 Japan, #8 Netherlands, #11 Argentina, #13 Germany, #18 Cameroon, #26 Mexico
- Pool D: #3 Serbia, #4 Brazil, #9 Dominican Republic, #13 Puerto Rico, #21 Kazakhstan, Kenya
- Schedule/Results
- Teams
Sweeps were the result of the day at the World Championships on Day 3 with all three matches in Pool A and in Pool D ending in short order.
The lone surprise result of the day was how quickly No. 3 Serbia bested No. 4 Brazil. In terms of rankings, No. 13 Germany topping No. 11 Argentina in Pool A also was a slight upset.
Match of the Day – Serbia def. Brazil 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-19)
Brazil earned 23 points on Serbian miscues, but Serbia more than made up for their errors with a 26-point advantage in kills (56-30), five more points in blocks (8-3) and three more in aces (5-2).
Tijana Boskovic led the way for the Serbs with 24 points on 21 kills, two aces and a block. Brankica Mihajlovic (15) and Milena Rasic (12) followed.
Tandara Caixeta was the top scorer for Brazil with nine points, all on kills. Gabriela Braga Guimaraes (8), Fernanda Rodrigues (7) and Ana Beatriz Correa (7) followed. Correa notched three kills to go with a team-best two blocks and two aces.
It was close through the midway point of Set 1 with Brazil leading 13-12. Serbia scored four in a row to go up 16-13 and Boskovic kept hammering away, rounding out a 10-point Set 1 effort, en route to the 25-22 win.
Serbia jumped ahead in Set 2 at 8-6 and maintained a slight edge throughout. Boskovic again drove the ship for the Serbians, coming through in the clutch whenever Brazil got close. A four-point edge at 19-15 climbed to seven at 25-18 as Mihajlovic notched her second set-ending putaway.
Serbia grabbed a 12-7 advantage in Set 3 and cruised to a 25-19 win.
“This was our best game of this championship,” Serbian coach Zoran Terzic said. “We were good on attack. We made mistakes on service, but we tried our best to move the Brazil team around with our serves. We must be happy and satisfied with this victory. I think we can still play better.”
Performances of the Day
Tijana Boskovic (Serbia) was a game-changer for Serbia, racking up a match-high 24 points on 21 kills, two aces and a block in the crushing win over Brazil.
Louisa Lippmann (Germany) – 23 points on 18 kills, two blocks and three aces in the upset win over Argentina.
Quote of the Day
German head coach Felix Koslowski: “Argentina deserve to be here because they play at a high level. We expected them to play with great fighting spirit and great technique and tactics and to put us under a lot of pressure. Even when we led by three or four points we never felt safe and had to push, push, push. My players did a really excellent job.”
Stat Leaders – After October 1
- Best Scorer – Louisa Lippmann, Germany; Lonneke Sloetjes, Netherlands – 56
- Best Spiker – Miryam Fatime Sylla, Italy – 61.54?
- Best Blocker – Irina Koroleva, Russia – 13 blocks – 1.63/set
- Best Server – Polina Rahimova, Azerbaijan/Samantha Bricio, Mexico/Sarah Wilhite, USA – 1/set
- Best Setter – Natalia Valentin, Puerto Rico – 14.67 per set
- Best Digger – Shara Venegas, Puerto Rico – 4.44 per set
- Best Receiver – Piyanut Pannoy, Thailand – 62.22% efficiency
Pool By Pool Results and Recap Links – Monday, October 1
- Pool A: Germany def. Argentina 3-0; Netherlands def. Cameroon 3-0; Japan def. Mexico 3-0
- Pool D: Serbia def. Brazil 3-0; Dominican Republic def. Kazakhstan 3-0; Puerto Rico def. Kenya 3-0 (Recap)
Pool Standings After Oct 1
Pool A
The Netherlands stayed perfect atop the group at 3-0, while Japan and Germany each earned their second win. The pool has a day off ahead of the final two days of action on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Germany/Argentina match featured a 66-point Set 2 (34-32). Germany won on its eighth set point attempt after Argentina missed on five chances.
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Netherlands |
3 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 3.000 | 285 | 270 | 1.056 |
| 2 |  Japan |
2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2.667 | 264 | 190 | 1.389 |
| 3 |  Germany |
2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2.333 | 257 | 215 | 1.195 |
| 4 |  Mexico |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0.667 | 205 | 233 | 0.880 |
| 5 |  Cameroon |
1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0.429 | 190 | 236 | 0.805 |
| 6 |  Argentina |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.000 | 177 | 234 | 0.756 |
Pool D
In one of the most anticipated matches of the group, #3 Serbia edged #4 Brazil in straight sets to take the top spot in the group at 3-0 with a full nine points. All nine matches in Pool D have been decided in straight sets.
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Serbia |
3 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 0 | MAX | 225 | 150 | 1.500 |
| 2 |  Brazil |
2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2.000 | 210 | 176 | 1.193 |
| 3 |  Puerto Rico |
2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2.000 | 194 | 192 | 1.010 |
| 4 |  Dominican Republic |
1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.500 | 191 | 206 | 0.927 |
| 5 |  Kenya |
1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.500 | 165 | 216 | 0.764 |
| 6 |  Kazakhstan |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.000 | 180 | 225 | 0.800 |
Next Up
Both pools have the day off before returning to action on Oct. 3. Pools B and D are in action on Tuesday with three matches apiece.
Leave a Reply