Caguas, Gurabo, Juncos and Maunabo, Puerto Rico, September 18, 2015 - A clash of titans has been established for this Saturday in Puerto Rico as FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship will decide its new champions. Brazil, the biggest winners ever at this age group, will take on Dominican Republic which have never won a gold medal but remain as the only unbeaten team in the competition.
It was a phenomenal performance for Brazil at their semifinal game in Gurabo, completely demolishing Japan 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-21) and thus reaching the final match for the ninth time. The South American powerhouse featured a gold medal duel for the last time in 2011, falling on the hands of Italy, but before that they have gathered six titles, including a four-edition reign from 2001 to 2007. This time, Lana Conceicao was the player at the helm of Brazil, leading the scores with 15 points.
On the other corner, Dominican Republic emerge as the only team yet to bite the dust in Puerto Rico. In Maunabo, the Caribbean team had another tremendous game from star player Brayelin Martinez, with 27 points that allowed a win over Italy in a nail-biting 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-7), after playing a fifth set for the first time in the tournament. Dominican Republic has never reached the highest podium placement so far, as their best and only medal is a silvered one harvested in 2009.
While Italy and Japan will go for the bronze medal, Peru and Serbia will collide for the fifth place of the competition. The European champions took out Bulgaria 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 29-27), while Peru had to recover to defeat Russia 3-1 (12-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-22) in front of a noisy bunch of Peruvian fans in Juncos.
Going down on the final standing, Turkey beat Czech Republic 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-13) and China did the same with Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-11), generating a rematch game between both winners in order to decide the ninth place. Host team Puerto Rico subdued Mexico 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 17-25, 25-19) and now the local girls will seek the 13th spot against another continental rivals, because Cuba prevailed over Egypt 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-17).
Top Scorer by Day
23 - Gergana Dimitrova of Bulgaria v Puerto Rico on September 11
19 - Brayelin Martínez 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
29 - Lorenne Geraldo of Brazil v Russia on September 16
27 - Brayelin Martínez of Dominican Republic v Peru on September 17
27 - Brayelin Martínez of Dominican Republic v Italy on September 18
Top Scoring Performances
29 - Lorenne Geraldo of Brazil v Russia on September 16
27 - Karla Santos of Puerto Rico v Turkey on September 15
27 - Diaris Perez of Cuba v Mexico on September 16
27 - Brayelin Martínez of Dominican Republic v Peru on September 17
27 - Brayelin Martínez of Dominican Republic v Italy on September 18
26 - Yagmur Kilic of Turkey v Egypt on September 16
25 - Nanami Hirose of Japan v Peru on September 16
Top Serving Performances
7 - Angelina Sperskaite of Russia v Brazil on September 16
7 - Maria Aguilera of Mexico v Cuba on September 16
7 - Humay Topaloglu of Turkey v Czech Republic on September 18
6 - Paola Egonu of Italy v Serbia on September 16
6 - Diaris Perez of Cuba v Mexico on September 16
5 - Several players
Top Team Serving Performances
15 - Cuba v Mexico on September 16
15 - Czech Republic v Mexico on September 17
14 - Chinese Taipei v Czech Republic on September 16
13 - Mexico v Cuba on September 16
13 - Turkey v Czech Republic on September 18
Top Blocking Performances
10 - 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
7 - Zehra Gunes of Turkey v Egypt on September 16
7 - Anna Danesi of Italy v Serbia on September 16
Top Team Blocking Performances
18 - Czech Republic v Chinese Taipei on September 16
16 - Italy v Brazil on September 15
16 - Serbia v China on September 13
16 - Brazil v Japan on September 18
15 - Italy v Japan on September 13
15 - Cuba v Mexico on September 16
15 - Puerto Rico v Egypt on September 17
Highest Scoring Sets
31-29 Czech Republic v Cuba (1st Set) on September 15
29-27 Mexico v Cuba (4th Set) on September 16
29-27 Serbia v Brazil (3rd Set) on September 17
29-27 Serbia v Bulgaria (3rd Set) on September 18
28-26 Peru v Serbia (3rd Set) on September 11
28-26 Japan v Bulgaria (3rd Set) on September 17
28-26 Dominican Republic v Peru (3rd Set) on September 17
Highest Scoring Matches
224 - Cuba d Mexico 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 27-29, 15-10) on September 16
208 - Turkey d Puerto Rico 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12) on September 15
208 - Dominican Republic d Italy 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-7) on September 18
201 - Puerto Rico d Egypt 3-2 (25-16, 25-10, 18-25, 23-25, 18-16) on September 17
200 - Chinese Taipei d Czech Republic 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 24-26, 25-13, 15-9) on September 16