Lausanne, Switzerland, August 21, 2010 – Defending champions Brazil put their stamp on the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix with an emphatic win over Chinese Taipei as Italy, the Netherlands, USA, Poland and China all clinched victories on the second day of the third weekend of the competition on Saturday.

Brazil, Poland, USA, Japan and Italy all secured their place in the Final Round on Friday as all sides looked to maintain momentum ahead of the next stage in Ningbo, China next weekend.

The Dominican Republic and the Netherlands began proceedings in Tokyo as the European side scored a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-20) win over the Caribbean team. Manon Flier was the top scorer for the Dutch with 17 points, while Lisvel Eve topped the scorers for the Dominican Republic with 11. Both sides started poorly, making many errors in their game. However the Dutch found their rhythm and eventually stole the set and went on to pick up the win.

“I'm very happy with the team's performance,” Avital Selinger, Dutch coach said. “I think the key for the win was the determination of the team to stick together after the disappointment of yesterday and to really show the real Volleyball we can play.”

The USA scored a convincing 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) win over Thailand in their match as they strive towards the Final Round. The American’s height was a clear advantage as they controlled the match from the off.

Poland clinched their second win of the weekend with a straight sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-14) victory over hosts Chinese Taipei at home. Despite an intense start Chinese Taipei couldn’t match the skill of the Europeans as they still strive to clinch their first win of this year’s tournament..

China secured their second win of the weekend with a straight sets (25-14, 25-19, 28-26) win over Germany in front of 10,000 fans in Hong Kong. The visitors never found their rhythm in the first set and although they put up a fight in the second and third they eventually went down to the hosts.

2009 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup winners Italy overcame Japan in four sets (25-23, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23) continuing their preparation for the final round. Despite Japan’s fight back in the third set Italy managed to control the game to clinch the victory.

“It was a very hard game today because we had to fight for every ball, but I think it was a very good game for us,” Italy captain Eleonora Lo Bianco, Italy captain said.

In the day’s final match Chinese Taipei fell to Brazil in straight sets (25-15, 25-17, 25-16) at home as the host side continue to search for their first win of the tournament. Despite passionate support from the home fans Brazil saw off the hosts as they continue a dominant display in the tournament.

Sunday will see the Dominican Republic v Italy, Germany v Thailand, Brazil v Poland, China v USA, Japan v the Netherlands and Chinese Taipei v Puerto Rico.