Japanese fans cheer as the home side also booked their place in the semifinals with victory over Korea

World No. 7 Russia and world No. 1 Brazil cannot be surpassed in Pools E and F respectively while world No. 5 Japan’s win against Korea, their seventh of the tournament, means they are out of reach in second place in Pool E. The chase for second place in Pool F and the second top four semifinal spot comes down to USA and Italy who play Brazil and Cuba respectively on Wednesday.

Pool E in Tokyo

Five-time champions Russia continued their unbeaten run with a slick 3-0 (25-19, 25-8, 25-12) win over Serbia to cement their place in the top four semifinals. The world No.7 improved their second-round record to 6:0, while Serbia, the 2006 bronze medallists, dropped to fourth in the group equal with Turkey and Korea with a 3:3 record.  "It's not a shame to lose against Russia because not one team has had a chance against them. But we shouldn't lose this way, that is a problem,” Serbia coach Zoran Terzic said. “We played point-by-point in the first period of the first set, but usually when Russia starts to make a break in the scoring, they start playing like a hurricane and I tried to stop this with a timeout. From time to time you can make something with a timeout, but today we didn't."
Hosts Japan confirmed their spot in the top four semifinals with a solid 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19) win over Korea in what was seen as a must-win match considering Japan plays Russia on Wednesday’s final day of the second round. The victory saw Japan’s second round record move to 5:1 putting them out of reach of Turkey, Serbia and Korea.
Earlier, Turkey overcame Peru 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20) to keep alive their slim chance of qualifying for the top four semifinals before Japan’s victory extinguished it while Peru dropped to 0:6 to confirm their elimination from the tournament at the end of the second round. Turkey, however, still have a chance of beating their previous Women’s World Championship best result of 10^th in 2006.

Meanwhile, China scored a big 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) win over Poland. The victory for China, who are only in contention for the semifinals for positions 5-8 at best, improved their record to 2:4, equal with Poland who lost their chance of reaching the top four semifinals.

Pool F in Nagoya

The powerhouse that is Brazil (6:0) registered a straight-sets victory (25-16, 25-13, 25-21) over Germany (3:3) to keep the world No. 1 on track to improve on their second-place finish in 2006. The loss was a setback for 15th-ranked Germany's attempts to qualify for the top four semifinals, who now face a must win game on Wednesday against the Netherlands - who have a 2:4 win:loss record - to ensure a spot in the positions 5-8 semifinals.
Meanwhile, USA (5:1) kept hold of second place ahead of Italy (4:2) with a straight sets victory (25-17, 25-22, 25-18) over the Netherlands (2:4). The U.S. entered the match coming off its lone loss (to Italy on Sunday) in the tournament and set the tone from the outset with Destinee Hooker prominent on the attack for the Americans, using her amazing leaping ability to repeatedly pound the opposition. "This win was important on lots of levels after the loss to,” USA coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “It puts us in a good position going into tomorrow's game against Brazil."
Italy defeated Thailand in rapid fashion in straight sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-19) to continue their push for a top four semifinal spot. The Italians came into the match with momentum following their victory over the United States on Sunday and were never threatened. Now they must beat Cuba on Wednesday and hope USA trip up against Brazil.
Earlier in the day Cuba claimed a 3-1 victory (25-22, 28-30, 25-22, 25-23) over the Czech Republic in a crucial victory with both teams previously tied with a 1:4 win:loss record. Cuba (2:4) now have a chance of reaching the 5-8 semifinals if they beat Italy on Wednesday and other results go their way, while the Czech Republic faces a bottom of the table play off with Thailand to see who can potentially keep their tournament hopes alive.

The FIVB Women’s World Championship started with 24 teams and is played from October 29 until November 14 encompassing five cities across first and second rounds, semifinals and finals. The top four teams in the four first round (Oct. 29 - Nov. 3) pools advanced to the second round (Nov. 6 - Nov. 10) before the top six teams in the each of the two pools will advance to the semifinals (Nov. 13) and finals (Nov. 14).

Pool Standings
Pool E (Tokyo): Russia 12, Japan 11, Turkey 9, Korea 9, Serbia 9, Poland 8, China 8, Peru 6

Pool F (Nagoya): Brazil 12, USA 11, Italy 10, Germany 9, Netherlands 8, Cuba 8, Czech Republic 7, Thailand 7

Match Schedule – November 10  

Highest Scorer By Day

Day 1 (1^st Rd): 28 points by Destinee Hooker (USA) in USA’s 3-1 win over Thailand in Matsumoto
Day 2 (1^st Rd): 35 points by Manon Flier (NED) in Italy’s 3-2 win over the Netherlands in Hamamatsu

Day 3 (1^st Rd): 27 points by Neslihan Darnel (TUR) in Turkey’s 3-2 win over the Dominican Republic in Osaka
Day 4 (1^st Rd): 34 points by Aneta Havlickova (CZE) in Czech Republic’s 3-2 win over Italy in Hamamatsu
Day 5 (1^st Rd): 29 points by Neslihan Darnel (TUR) in Korea’s 3-2 win over Turkey in Osaka
Day 6 (2^nd Rd): 28 points by Malgorzata Glinka-Mogentale (POL) in Poland’s 3-2 win over Korea in Tokyo

Day 7 (2^nd Rd): 24 points by Destinee Hooker (USA) in Italy’s 3-1 win over USA in Nagoya and by Yukiko Ebata (JPN) in Japan’s 3-1 win over Turkey in Tokyo
Day 8 (2^nd Rd): 22 points by Kenia Carcaces (CUB) in Cuba’s 3-1 win over the Czech Republic in Nagoya

Highest Set Score

34-32 (CRO v CUB in Pool C) played on October 29 (Day 1) in Matsumoto and (PER v CRC in Pool A) played on November 3 in Tokyo. * Women’s World Championship records

Highest Scoring Matches

235 (CZE v ITA in 1^st Round) 3-2 (25-27, 27-29,         25-23, 25-22, 17-15) played on November 2 in Hamamatsu
220 (POL v JPN in 1st Round) 2-3 (28-26, 25-21, 20-25, 23-25, 12-15) played on October 29 in Tokyo
218 (NED v ITA in 1^st Round) 2-3 (25-18, 21-25, 23-25, 28-26, 12-15) played on October 30 in Hamamatsu
212 (TUR v DOM in 1^st Round) 3-2 (25-20, 25-14, 23-25, 23-25, 17-15) played on October 31 in Osaka
211 (CZE v BRA in 1^st Round) 2-3 (25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 9-15) played on October 30 in Hamamatsu

Tournament Top Scorers

183 Neslihan Darnel (TUR)
165 Yeon-Koung Kim (KOR)
162 Saori Kimura (JPN)
148 Destinee Hooker (USA)
146 Kenia Carcaces (CUB)

Birthdays on November 10

Pannoy Piyanut (THA) turns 21