Russia and USA stay on top at start of World Cup second round

Sendai and Okayama, Japan, August 30, 2015 – Russia and the United States stayed on top with straight-set victories over Korea and Kenya, respectively; while Serbia, Japan, Argentina, and China also seized victories as FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup action resumed with the second round on Sunday.

In Sendai, Serbia encountered an up-and-down game but still prevailed in their 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-22) match against the Dominican Republic. Brankica Mihajlovic topped all scorers with 16 points, while Yonkara Paola Pena Isabel led the Dominican Republic with 13 points. The Serbians’ high blocks made the difference in the match as they deflected nine attacks by the Dominicans, with all starting players averaging a block point in the match.

Russia extended their winning streak to 6-0 after they trounced Korea in straight sets (25-20, 26-24, 25-22). Nataliya Obmochaeva scored a total of 25 points, including 21 spikes, three blocks and an ace. Obmochaeva staged the Russian onslaught and outperformed Kim Hee-Jin, who top scored for Korea with 17 points. Kim Yeon-Koung came third in scoring with 15 points, closely followed by Russia’s Tatiana Kosheleva, who delivered 14 markers.

Japan cruised to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-15) victory over Peru. Japanese captain Saori Kimura and Miyu Nagaoka finished with 12 points apiece. Peru struggled to return the Japanese serve as the hosts served nine aces in the match. Japan likewise defended well at the net with 11 blocks.

Meanwhile, in Okayama, Argentina routed Algeria 3-0 (25-11, 25-8, 25-11) to record their third victory in the tournament. Argentina had super trips from the attack line, which tallied 43 spikes compared to Algeria’s 17. Lucia Fresco and Natalia Aispurua combined for 25 points to lead the Argentines to victory, while Nawel Hammouche finished with seven points for the losing side.

USA continued to dominate in Site B with a strong 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-13) finish over Kenya. The United States came off with a strong performance on all fronts, outscoring Kenya in spikes 45-24, in blocks 9-2, and in service aces 2-1. USA also managed to keep their errors down, committing only 17 faults, compared to Kenya’s 19. Nicole Fawcett and Megan Easy scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the United States.

China made its third consecutive win in the tournament with a straight-set (25-19, 25-10, 25-14) win over Cuba. The Chinese side started the second round with a victory, which gives them a 5-1 win-loss record. Zhang Changning led China with 16 points, and then Zeng Chunlei added 15 points to outscore Cuba’s Jennifer Yanet Alvarez Hernandez, who finished with 14 points. China scored 16 points on blocks and limited the Cubans to score just 24 points on attacks.

26 – Mercy Moim of Kenya v Cuba on August 22

34 – Tatiana Kosheleva of Russia v Japan on August 23

19 – Sarina Koga of Japan v Cuba on August 24

27 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v China on August 26

26 – Prisilla Rivera Brens of Dominican Republic v Japan on August 27

25 – Nataliya Obmochaeva of Russia v Korea on August 30

34 – Tatiana Kosheleva of Russia v Japan on August 23

27 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v China on August 26

26 – Prisilla Rivera Brens of Dominican Republic v Japan on August 27

26 – Mercy Moim of Kenya v Cuba on August 22

25 – Nataliya Obmochaeva of Russia v Korea on August 30

25 – Regla Gracia of Cuba v Kenya on August 22

24 – Zhu Ting of China v Serbia on August 22

24 – Nataliya Obmochaeva of Russia v Dominican Republic on August 22

23 – Saori Kimura of Japan v Russia on August 23

23 – Tijana Boskovic of Serbia v USA on August 23

5 – Prisilla Rivera Brens of Dominican Republic v Japan on August 27

5 – Zhang Changning of China v Serbia on August 22

4 – Yonkaira Paolo Pena Isabel of Dominican Republic v Serbia on August 30

4 – Sarina Koga of Japan v Dominican Republic on August 27

4 – Miyu Nagaoka of Japan v Cuba on August 24

4 – Tijana Boskovic of Serbia v USA on August 23

4 – Saori Kimura of Japan v Argentina on August 22

4 – Everlyn Makuto of Kenya v Cuba on August 22

4 - Foluke Akinradewo of USA v Korea on August 22

10 – Dominican Republic v Japan on August 27

10 – Japan v Kenya on August 26

10 – Korea v Algeria on August 24

10 – Serbia v USA on August 23

10 - USA v Korea on August 22

7 – Yuan Xinyue of China v Peru on August 27

6 – Tetori Dixon of USA v Algeria on August 27

6 – Julieta Constanza Lazcano of Argentina v Dominican Republic on August 24

6 – Milena Rasic of Serbia v USA on August 23

6 – Maja Ognjenovic of Serbia v USA on August 23

6 – Zhu Ting of China v Serbia on August 22

5 – Annerys Victoria Valdez Vargas of Dominican Republic v Japan on August 27

5 – Alena Rojas Orta of Cuba v Dominican Republic v Cuba on August 26

5 – Marianne Fersola Norberto of Dominican Republic v Argentina on August 24

5 – Tatiana Kosheleva of Russia v Japan on August 23

5 – Emilce Sosa of Argentina v Cuba on August 23

5 – Yang Hyo-Jin of Korea v Peru on August 23

5 – Nataliya Obmochaeva of Russia v Dominican Republic on August 22

22 – Serbia v USA on August 23

17 – China v Cuba on August 30

17 – USA v Algeria on August 27

16 – Korea v Peru on August 23

14 – Japan v Dominican Republic on August 27

14 – Cuba v Dominican Republic on August 26

14 – Dominican Republic v Argentina on August 24

14 – Argentina v Dominican Republic on August 24

14 – China v Serbia on August 22

27-25 Cuba v Kenya (1st set) on August 22

28-26 Dominican Republic v Kenya (1st set) on August 23

25-23 USA v China (1st and 3rd sets) on August 24

25-23 Dominican Republic v Cuba (4th set); Korea v China (1st set); China v Korea (4th set) on August 26

32-30 Dominican Republic v Japan (3rd set) on August 27

26-24 Korea v Russia (2nd set) on August 30

184 - Cuba d Kenya 3-1 (27-25, 25-23, 12-25, 25-22) on August 22

202 – Russia d Japan 3-2 (12-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 15-13) on August 23

177 – Dominican Republic d Argentina 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 25-15) on August 24

185 – Dominican Republic d Cuba 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23) on August 26

218 – Japan d Dominican Republic 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 30-32, 25-15, 15-13) on August 27

142 – Russia d Korea 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-22) on August 30