7th-ranked Italy rallied all the way back for a 3-1 upset victory after dropping the opening set to top-ranked China. The Italians complete pool play with a perfect 5-0 mark, while the Chinese drop to 4-1 heading to the second round of FIVB World Championship action.
2018 FIVB Women’s World Championship
- Schedule
- Teams
- Pool B: Italy, China, Turkey, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba
- Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center (Sapporo)
- Day 1; Day 2; Day 3; Day 4
#7 Italy def. #1 China 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-20)
- Italy moves to 5-0 (15 points); China falls to 4-1 (12 points)
- Attendance: 2,200
- Match Stats
After dropping the opening set, 7th-ranked Italy rattled off 3-straight wins to claim the 3-1 team result and topple top-ranked China Thursday night. With the win, the Italians head into the second round with a perfect 5-0 mark, while the Chinese sit at 4-1 following pool play.
“I’m satisfied with today’s result,” Italy head coach Davide Mazzanti said. “It’s a good step forward. In the first set, the players were a little bit nervous, but from the second set I had the players play freely. We knew all about the China team and their abilities, so we tried to serve strong and we were able to focus on the game and this helped us to win. It’s important for us to keep this attitude and playing style and to keep our concentration.”
Italy was dominant on the block, outdoing China 19 to 9, and at the service line, notching 8 aces to China’s 4. The Chinese committed 22 errors, while the Italians limited their total to 10.
Paola Ogechi Egonu was unstoppable in the match, compiling 29 points which included 3 service aces and 3 blocks. Miryam Sylla and Lucia Bosetti added 15 and 14 points, respectively for Italy.
Zhu Ting led China with a 20-point effort.
#17 Bulgaria def. 3-1 #19 Canada 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-21)
- Bulgaria moves to 2-3 (6 points); Canada falls to 1-4 (6 points)
- Attendance: 400
- Match Stats
17th-ranked Bulgaria sent 19th-ranked Canada packing and shored up a second round appearance with a 3-1 victory Thursday night inside Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center. It was a pretty even performance, as each team registered 7 blocks and 8 service aces.
“Today was a good day for us and it was a good match,” Bulgaria head coach Ivan Petkov said. “After this match we can go to the next round and this was our initial target. It was hard for our team after playing a very hard match against China yesterday. We lost then but when you win you are happy. Now we must think of our first match in the next round.”
Gergana Dimitrova and Nasya Dimitrova both notched 17 points to lead Bulgaria deeper into FIVB World Championship play.
For Canada, Autumn Bailey and Kiera Van Ryk both contributed 18 points.
#12 Turkey def. #25 Cuba 3-1 (25-15, 25-14, 23-25, 25-7)
- Turkey moves to 3-2 (9 points); Cuba falls to 0-5 (0 points)
- Attendance: 750
- Match Stats
12th-ranked Turkey handed 25th-ranked Cuba its 12th consecutive World Championship loss in 4 sets Thursday night to close out pool play. After going up 2 games to none, the Cubans rallied to take the 3rd set before Turkey could close it out with a win in the 4th.
“We did our job and won the match with three points, but I’m not happy with the way we played in the third set,” Turkey head coach Giovanni Guidetti said. “But now we’re looking forward to Osaka. I was happy with the way the team played against Canada and Bulgaria; we played consistently and well. I believe we could have fought more against Italy and China, even if they are better than us. We could have given them more trouble. We need to improve our block, attack and defense.”
Turkey’s 12 to 5 blocking edge and 8 to 4 service advantage keyed the victory. Cuba committed 22 errors in the loss trailed the Turks in spikes (56 to 33) and digs (30 to 14).
A trio netted double figure point totals for Turkey, including Meryem Boz (17), Hande Baladin (16) and Zehra Gunes (15). Gunes led the way with 5 blocks, while Meliha Ismailoglu served up 4 aces.
Ailama Cese Montalvo led Cuba with 11 points, followed by Jessica Aguilera Carbajal, who posted 8 in the match.
Final Pool B Standings and Results:
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Italy |
5 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 1 | 15.000 | 396 | 290 | 1.366 |
| 2 |  China |
4 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 4 | 3.250 | 407 | 342 | 1.190 |
| 3 |  Turkey |
3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 1.286 | 364 | 309 | 1.178 |
| 4 |  Bulgaria |
2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 0.700 | 361 | 383 | 0.943 |
| 5 |  Canada |
1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 0.308 | 332 | 401 | 0.828 |
| 6 |  Cuba |
0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0.133 | 279 | 414 | 0.674 |
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep | 13:40 | Bulgaria |
0–3 | Italy |
15–25 | 19–25 | 22–25 | 56–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 29 Sep | 16:10 | Turkey |
3–0 | Canada |
25–18 | 25–13 | 25–15 | 75–46 | P2 Report | ||
| 29 Sep | 19:20 | China |
3–0 | Cuba |
25–12 | 25–23 | 25–14 | 75–49 | P2 Report | ||
| 30 Sep | 13:40 | Canada |
0–3 | Italy |
15–25 | 15–25 | 18–25 | 48–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 30 Sep | 16:10 | Cuba |
0–3 | Bulgaria |
10–25 | 20–25 | 14–25 | 44–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 30 Sep | 19:20 | Turkey |
0–3 | China |
18–25 | 23–25 | 23–25 | 64–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 2 Oct | 13:40 | Italy |
3–0 | Cuba |
25–11 | 25–18 | 25–20 | 75–49 | P2 Report | ||
| 2 Oct | 16:10 | Bulgaria |
0–3 | Turkey |
17–25 | 23–25 | 12–25 | 52–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 2 Oct | 19:20 | China |
3–0 | Canada |
25–21 | 25–21 | 25–13 | 75–55 | P2 Report | ||
| 3 Oct | 13:40 | Turkey |
0–3 | Italy |
19–25 | 21–25 | 12–25 | 52–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 3 Oct | 16:10 | Canada |
3–1 | Cuba |
16–25 | 25–13 | 25–18 | 25–20 | 91–76 | P2 Report | |
| 3 Oct | 19:20 | China |
3–1 | Bulgaria |
22–25 | 25–22 | 25–14 | 25–17 | 97–78 | P2 Report | |
| 4 Oct | 13:40 | Bulgaria |
3–1 | Canada |
23–25 | 27–25 | 25–21 | 25–21 | 100–92 | P2 Report | |
| 4 Oct | 16:10 | Cuba |
1–3 | Turkey |
15–25 | 14–25 | 25–23 | 7–25 | 61–98 | P2 Report | |
| 4 Oct | 19:20 | Italy |
3–1 | China |
20–25 | 26–24 | 25–16 | 25–20 | 96–85 | P2 Report |
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