World champions USA pose with the FIVB Volleyball World Cup mascot Vabo Chan, after their 3-0 victory over Peru in Matsumoto on Wednesday
Tokyo and Matsumoto, Japan, August 26, 2015 – Favourites Russia, Dominican Republic, Japan, USA, Serbia and China netted victories on Wednesday after the one-day break to continue the first round action in the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup.
The lively crowd at Yoyogi National Stadium witnessed Russia command a straight-set (25-10, 25-10, 25-16) victory over Argentina to keep a 4-0 record. Scoring ace Tatiana Kosheleva got some rest in the match after her scoring spree in their last three matches, but Alexandra Pasynkova took charge instead in scoring with 14 points, followed by Nataliya Obmochaeva with 13 points.
Dominican Republic won over regional rivals Cuba 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23) to continue a three-match streak after failing to win on opening day. Although the Cubans brought in the big points in the match, it was Dominican Republic balanced scoring that gave them the advantage. Prisilla Rivera Brens once again proved worthy of her leadership in the team, finished with 12 points, while rival Jennifer Yanet Alvarez tallied 22 points for Cuba.
Japan ruled Kenya 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-12) to hold a 3-1 win-record in the tournament. Japan’s excellent defence forced the Kenyan attackers to thread the needle and sparingly utilise their strong swings from the flanks. Saori Kimura led Japan with 12 points, while Mercy Moim led Kenya with 13 markers. Japan also had an excellent performance from the service line with a total of 10 aces.
At the Matsumoto City Gymnasium, world champions USA gained back-to-back wins with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-12) triumph over Peru. USA did not have any difficulty in handling Peru despite most of their regular starters rested on the bench. The USA improved their win-loss record to 3-1. Tetori Dixon led USA with 14 points, and then Nicole Fawcett added 12 points. Katherinne Olemar of Peru scored seven points on a losing effort.
Serbia cruised to an easy 3-0 (25-7, 25-11, 25-3) win over Algeria and tie the record for the lowest scoring set in the history of the World Cup, since the introduction of the rally point system. The third set score was 25-3, which tied the lowest set score record of 25-3, set by Italy over Tunisia in 1999 in Sendai. In the match, Brankica Mihajlovic and Jovana Stevanovic scored 11 points each to lead the Serbians to their third straight victory in the competition.
China avoided the tie-break set after they made a comeback late in the fourth set to complete a 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-23) win over Korea. China trailed Korea in the fourth set but Zhu Ting’s return from a brief break to attend to a minor injury, changed the outcome of the match. Korean scoring ace Kim Yeon-Koung charted 27 big points but Zhu Ting’s heroics in the match and 16-point effort were good enough for the Chinese victory.
Top Scorer by Day
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
Top Scoring Performances
34 – Tatiana Kosheleva of Russia v Japan on August 23
27 – Kim Yeon-Koung of Korea v China on August 26
26 – Mercy Moim of Kenya v Cuba on August 22
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
Top Individual Serving Performances
5 – Zhang Changning of China v Serbia on August 22
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
Top Team Serving Performances
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
Top Individual Blocking Performances
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 – 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
Top Team Blocking Performances
22 – Serbia v USA on August 23
16 – Korea v Peru on August 23
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
Highest Scoring Sets
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
Highest Scoring Matches
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