WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PEAKS AS ROUND 3 BEGINS

Lausanne, Switzerland, October 12, 2018 – The top teams in the world are on the line to make the final push, as of Sunday, for the ultimate volleyball title, as the 2018 FIVB Women’s World Championship enters the Final Six stage.

• Pool G: Italy, Serbia, Japan
• Pool H: Netherlands, USA, China

The top two teams of each pool meet in crosswise semifinals on Friday 19 October. These are followed by the bronze medal match and the final on Saturday 20 October. The third-ranked teams of each pool meet on Friday 19 October for a 5th-place playoff.

There’s a couple of huge volleyball world powerhouses missing from this Final Six, after record seven-time world champions Russia (including as Soviet Union) crashed out of the tournament for their lowest final ranking ever in the history of the competition.

And for two-time Olympic gold medallists Brazil, who were also knocked out after Round 2, it means another four years to wait before they can get another shot at the only major title that still eludes them.

But for the remaining six, this is the moment of truth.

Italy are the only undefeated side after nine matches of pool play in Rounds 1 and 2. But they are up against Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallists Serbia, who may have suffered two defeats in their last two matches – but these came only after they had already secured their spot in the top six.

Japan, who claimed a last-minute passage to the top six after taking the first set from Brazil in the very last match of pool play on Thursday, have already improved on their previous performance of four years ago when they ranked 7th.

Heading the other Round 3 pool are three of the four top teams from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games: gold medallists China, bronze medallists USA and fourth-ranked Netherlands. Defending world champions USA and China had also met in the 2014 World Championship final in Milan.

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