Women’s WCH Pool B Preview – Who Will Survive The “Pool Of Death”?

2018 FIVB VOLLEYBALL WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

• 29 September – 20 October
• Schedule
• Teams
• Pool B – China, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba
• Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, Sapporo

Pool B Teams

		Matches		Pts	Sets			Points
Rank	Team	W	L		W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Bulgaria	0	0	0	0	0	MAX	0	0	MAX
1	China	0	0	0	0	0	MAX	0	0	MAX
1	Canada	0	0	0	0	0	MAX	0	0	MAX
1	Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	MAX	0	0	MAX
1	Italy	0	0	0	0	0	MAX	0	0	MAX
1	Turkey	0	0	0	0	0	MAX	0	0	MAX

Pool Preview

The pool of death. Talk about bad luck. Whenever you have a pool that has in it China, Italy, and Turkey, it surely means that one of the teams will get the short end of the stick. Although all three of them will have no trouble making it to the second round, the fact that they will carry with them their Round 1 records mean that they are in trouble. Anything can happen in this pool, as it will by far be the most exciting in the competition. The bad news for Canada, Bulgaria, and Cuba is that they will have to fight like crazy just to be bottom-feeders.

Story Lines To Watch

• China finished 9th in this year’s VNL, clearly showing its lack of interest in the competition. Just how fast can the team turn up the heat at this year’s WCH?
• Italy is taking 9 players under 22 years of age to the tournament. Just how young is too young for a competition like this? Did the team throw away its medal hopes in order to implement is aggressive team rejuvenation plan?
• Turkey has played its whole season without team staples Gozde Kirdar, Neriman Ozsoy, and Naz Aydemir. However, the team’s performance has not lacked in any aspects of the game, as the team medaled at the NVL and Montreux Masters. A WCH medal would be a cherry on the cake of what has been so far a wonderful year for the Turkish team.
• Canada had one of the worst lucks in this year’s WCH Draw. In any other group, it would be an easy 4th seed choice for round 2. But when you have to go against China, Italy, and Turkey, things tend to get harder. Can it overcome its bad luck and guarantee wins against Bulgaria and Cuba?
• Can the very young Cuban team play to just 10% of its past glory? Regardless, fans just sit tight and let nostalgia kick in.
• Can Bulgaria make up for the absence of Elitsa Vasileva? Probably not as her shoes are just too big to fill.

Schedule (Times are UTC +9)

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
29 Sep	13:40	Bulgaria	–	Italy
29 Sep	16:10	Turkey	–	Canada
29 Sep	19:20	China	–	Cuba
30 Sep	13:40	Canada	–	Italy
30 Sep	16:10	Cuba	–	Bulgaria
30 Sep	19:20	Turkey	–	China
2 Oct	13:40	Italy	–	Cuba
2 Oct	16:10	Bulgaria	–	Turkey
2 Oct	19:20	China	–	Canada
3 Oct	13:40	Turkey	–	Italy
3 Oct	16:10	Canada	–	Cuba
3 Oct	19:20	China	–	Bulgaria
4 Oct	13:40	Bulgaria	–	Canada
4 Oct	16:10	Cuba	–	Turkey
4 Oct	19:20	Italy	–	China