Lausanne, Switzerland, August 7, 2010 – Brazil remained unbeaten as the Netherlands, China, Poland, Italy and Germany all picked up victories on the second day of the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix as the premier annual women’s tournament continued.
The Netherlands opened the day with a straight-sets (25-9, 25-12, 25-21) win over Puerto Rico in Chengdu, China as they remained on top of Pool C. The Dutch came out strong in the first set to take an early lead and continued to control proceedings in the second. Puerto Rico came alive in the third but it was too little too late as the Dutch ran away with the game.
Home side China impressed as they saw off Thailand 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-22) in a rematch of the two side's encounter at the 15th Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, where Thailand upset the Chinese. Thailand came out strong but couldn’t penetrate the hosts block as China continue their winning streak.
Brazil was next up as they beat Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-19 and 25-20) at home in Sao Carlos. Brazilian opposite Sheilla was the top scorer of the match, with 17 points, followed by teammate Jaqueline, who scored 13. Middle-blocker Inoue scored 10 for Japan. The score was never in doubt and despite a number of mistakes in the second, Brazil cruised to the win.
"We played really well, with patience and focused,†Brazil captain Fabiana Claudino said. “We served and blocked very well and had conciousness in the counter attacks. It is always tough playing against Japan."
Poland confirmed their status as the top side in Pool B with a straight sets (25-23, 25-16, 25-14) win over the Dominican Republic at home in Gdynia. Poland's Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza was the game’s MVP as Katarzyna Gajgal topped the scores with 14 points.
Despite the match starting well for the visitors the Poles drew level thanks to Anna Baranska and Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza's wonderful serves. From there they moved on to pick up the opening set before claiming the next two and the match.
Italy recovered from their shock defeat to Japan on Friday with a straight sets (25-15, 25-20 and 25-19) win over Chinese Taipei in Sao Carlos. The 2009 FIVB World Grand Champions winners looked the better side from the off as Italian opposite Ortolani led all scorers, with 15 points while Chinese Taipei's middle-blocker Tsai scored seven. Taking advantage of the rivals’ lack of experience, Italy had little trouble taking an early lead before storming through the next two sets to secure the win.
Germany picked up a 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 16-25, 25-23) win over the USA in the day’s final match despite American Destinee Hooker topping the scores with 24 points. Germany pounced to an early lead, going two sets up. The U.S. woke up in the third to pull one back but it wasn’t enough as the Germans picked up an epic win.
The final day of the first weekend of the competition sees China face the Netherlands, Thailand face Puerto Rico, Brazil face Italy, Poland face the USA, Japan face Chinese Taipei and Germany face the Dominican Republic.