Caguas, Gurabo, Juncos and Maunabo, Puerto Rico, September 15, 2015 - Resuming play after a one-day break, FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship in Puerto Rico kept the pace high as second round brought some awesome results, with Brazil and Serbia atop of the list after shocking Italy and Russia. Dominican Republic and Peru also walked towards the elite four, leaving behind Japan and Bulgaria.
Still boiling after their last-minute qualification, now the Serbian girls added another fantastic performance with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-18) handled to Russia in Gurabo, to get closer to the semifinal stage. Bojana Milenkovic stole the show with 21 points, including three aces, as the main reason for the comeback that also meant Russia’s first defeat in Puerto Rico.
The other Pool E match was also an upset, as Brazil put an end to Italy’s unbeaten march by 3-1 (25-11, 25-22, 25-27, 25-20). Italy took too long to enter the court and Brazil never forgave that, controlling the entire game even when the third set slipped away. Drussyla Costa’s 21-point game was vital for Brazil, as well as effectively controlling Italian bomber Paola Egonu.
Meanwhile, at Pool F in Juncos, Dominican Republic grabbed their fourth win, being a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-14) over Japan. The Asian team put their rivals in serious danger during the first set, but they failed to close it and fell into several mistakes afterwards, smoothing the victory road for the Dominicans. Brayelin Martinez was again at the helm of her side with 17 kills.
After the loss of Russia, now Peru is the only team still holding perfect numbers, thanks to another 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-12) victory, this time against Bulgaria. Angela Leyva and Maguilaura Frías teamed up to collect 17 and 12 points respectively, with captain Leyva nailing four aces among that total. The Peruvian team remains without losing a single set at the moment.
The tournament also restarted on its lower part, on the road towards the ninth place of the final standing. In Caguas, China smashed Egypt 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-17) and Turkey had to work against hosts Puerto Rico 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12), while in Maunabo, Chinese Taipei downed Mexico 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-16) followed by a triumph of Czech Republic over Cuba also by 3-0 (31-29, 25-13, 25-22).
Top Scorer by Day23 - Gergana Dimitrova of Bulgaria v Puerto Rico on September 11
19 - Brayelin Martinez of Dominican Republic v Czech Republic on September 12
19 - Nanami Hirose of Japan v Chinese Taipei of September 12
24 - Yagmur Kilic of Turkey v Czech Republic on September 13
27 - Karla Santos of Puerto Rico v Turkey on September 15
Top Scoring Performances27 - Karla Santos of Puerto Rico v Turkey on September 15
24 - Yagmur Kilic of Turkey v Czech Republic on September 13
23 - Gergana Dimitrova of Bulgaria v Puerto Rico on September 11
22 - Karla Santos of Puerto Rico v Bulgaria on September 11
22 - Gong Xiangyu of China v Serbia on September 13
22 - Brayelin Martinez of Dominican Republic v Brazil on September 13
Top Serving Performances5 - Gong Xiangyu of China v Mexico on September 11
5 - Anna Lazareva of Russia v Cuba on September 11
5 - Drussyla Costa of Brazil v Turkey on September 12
5 - Sara Lozo of Serbia v China on September 13
5 - Zhang Qian of China v of Serbia on September 13
Top Team Serving Performances12 - Russia v Cuba on September 11
12 - Turkey v Czech Republic on September 13
12 - Chinese Taipei v Mexico on September 15
11 - Russia v Bulgaria on September 11
11 - Serbia v China on September 13
11 - Serbia v Russia on September 15
Top Blocking Performances10 - Zehra Gunes of Turkey v Puerto Rico on September 15
7 - Laiza Ferreira of Brazil v Czech Republic on September 11
7 - Zhang Qian of China v Peru on September 12
6 - Lee Yu of Chinese Taipei v Egypt on September 13
6 - Anna Danesi of Italy v Japan on September 13
Top Team Blocking Performances16 - Serbia v China on September 13
15 - Italy v Japan on September 13
13 - China v Mexico on September 11
13 - Dominican Republic v Czech Republic on September 12
Highest Scoring Sets31-29 Czech Republic v Cuba (1st Set) on September 15
28-26 Peru v Serbia (3rd Set) on September 11
27-25 Peru v China (3rd Set) on September 12
27-25 Italy v Brazil (3rd Set) on September 15
Highest Scoring Matches208 - Turkey v Puerto Rico 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12) on September 15
189 - Serbia d China 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 18-25, 25-17, 15-5) on September 13
187 - Cuba d Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-14, 25-20, 20-25, 11-25, 15-7) on September 13