Peru is all set to host the Gatorade Cup U20 Final Four - Volleyball

Once again the Eduardo Dibos Coliseum of Lima will host an international volleyball competition when the national female teams of hosts Peru, Argentina, Cuba and Dominican Republic battle at the Gatorade Cup U20 Final Four from October 16-19.

The friendly tournament is presented as a big sport festival with the coaches of the participating teams saying they will use it to help the consistent growth of their players while facing opponents of top level.

The host Peru will be joined by teams from Argentina, Cuba, and Dominican Republic. 

USA defeats China to seize the gold at the FIVB Women’s World Championship

Years of training and a full month of competition led up to a historic gold medal for Team USA on Sunday, as they took on the Chinese women in a four-set match filled with some of the best rallies of the competition.

The thrilling match pitted top female volleyball athletes in the world against each other, in a close battle with nearly equal skills. FIVB Women’s World Championship MVP Kimberly Hill lead her team with 20 points during the match, but China’s Opposite spiker Chunlei Zengalso put up 20 points of her own.

“She was unstoppable,” Jordan Larson-Burbach said, in a discussion with USA Volleyball about teammate Hill. “She was hitting high over the block, high in the seam, passing well and just playing her game. She’s a baller. I’m really proud of her. It’s been awesome to get to know her. Just a very fun person to be around.”

USA's coach Karch Kiraly also expressed his fulfillment with the team and Hill.

"She actually had to get talked into the tryout," he said to USA Volleyball. "She was kind of afraid and nervous about attending... and here she is MVP of World Championships less than two years later, helping lead us to our first-ever title, helping us make history.”

The second best scorers on each team also tied with 15 points each – USA’s 2012 Olympic Games silver medalist Christa Harmotto Dietzen and Ting Zhu, China’s Best Outside Hitter and MVP in 2013 FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship.

“(China) are a good team,” said USA setter Alisha Glass. “They’re a dangerous team. We were fortunate to come out with a very fast start. They battled back as they should and made it really interesting and nerve-wracking I’m sure. We just had to fight for every point. I think we eventually came out and earned it.”

The U 20 Gatorade Final Four Women’s Cup Lima - Day 1

The U 20 Gatorade Final Four Women’s Cup Lima started off at Eduardo Dibos Coliseum in Peru on Thursday.  

On the opening day of the tournament, hosts Peru and Dominican Republic settled for victories.


Peru had a tough fight with Argentina and posted 3-2(26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 15-25, 15-10). On the other hand, Dominican Republic launched authority over Cuba in straight sets 25-16, 25-20, 25-19.

Peru’s Angela Leyva led the home side with 13 points followed by Maguilaura Frias and Luciana del Valle with 12 points apiece. Argentina’s Sol Piccolo had a match-high 19 points while Irene Verasio added 14.

Natalia Martinez was the top scorer for the Dominican side with 16 points while Carmela Massip stood out for the Cubans with 10 points. The Dominicans held advantages in attacks (32-30), services (5-4) and blocks (9-5).

Beach Get Involved - News from Indonesia

The Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) recently joined hands with the Development Centre of Indonesia and organised a technical seminar entitled “Beach Get Involved”. The seminar completed its run from November 11 to 15 and turned out to be a successful venture.

The FIVB Instructor Mr Mohammed Benhamida from Qatar supervised the seminar and helped the participants to learn more the challenging sport of Beach Volleyball. The participants showed great spirit to learn and improve their skills. They regularly attended the lessons and took out notes. The technical seminar on beach volleyball perfectly served its purpose of teaching technicians (with experience as volleyball players and/or coaches), who had the urge to improve their knowledge and competences of the different volleyball techniques.

This activity was a part of the broader development plan of International Volleyball Federation to encourage more international tournaments and courses in Indonesia, which holds a great deal of potential for the sport and has numerous beaches.

The FIVB instructor Mohammed Benhamida shared his thoughts at the completion of seminar in the following manner, “With 33 provinces and more than 220 million inhabitants, Indonesia needs a strategic plan for the future of beach volleyball.”

Four NORCECA Teams confirmed for the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix – Volleyball News

Following the successful completion of XI Women’s Pan American Volleyball Cup in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, four teams earned tickets for the upcoming edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix.

United States, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico will represent North, Central America & Caribbean Volleyball Federation (NORCECA) in the 21^st edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place in summer, 2013.

US women’s national volleyball team worked out a great performance at the XI Women’s Pan Am Cup that served as a qualification tournament for the World Grand Prix. US musketeers concluded the prelims of Pan Am Cup with 4-1 record and did not drop any match afterwards. Reed Sunahara, the American mentor, formulized a perfect plan and led his team to the top spot in the tournament. USA downed resilient rival Brazil in the final showdown and settled for No. 1 position. Victory also enabled USA to book a slot in the 2013 FIVB Grand Prix.

Caribbean ladies from Cuba, on the other hand, finished third in the competition. Cuba was defeated by Brazil in the semi-final match. However, the team managed to overcome Dominican Republic in the bronze medal match. Cuba qualified for the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix when it entered the semis of the Pan Am Cup.

Dominican Republic played the third-position match against Cuba and dropped the decision. Dominican Republic claimed fourth position and also reserved a World Grand Prix spot.
Puerto Rico could not find a place in the top four of the competition, but managed to take sixth position. Puerto Rico was challenged by Argentina in the final match of the classification round. The South American team lost the fight, while Puerto Rico grabbed success.

According to the set formula of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), a total of sixteen teams will take part in the 2013 Grand Prix. The four NORCECA teams have already been confirmed for the competition. Brazil and Argentina also earned the qualification via XI Women’s Pan Am Cup and they will represent South America. Furthermore, the competition will receive five teams from Europe, four from Asia and one from Africa

Grid of 12 women’s teams finalised for the 2012 London Olympic Games – Volleyball news

Following the successful completion of 2012 FIVB Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan, the grid of 12 teams finalised for the upcoming Summer Olympics in London.

The Olympic qualification process for women’s volleyball started off in 2010 and finally completed its run in 2012, in about three years’ time. The FIVB Women’s World Olympic Qualifiers, which continued from May 23-27, served as the last leg in the whole process.

A complete list of the 12 qualified teams is as follows.

1. Great Britain (hosts), 
2. Italy, 
3. United States, 
4. China, 
5. Algeria, 
6. Dominica Republic, 
7. Turkey, 
8. Brazil, 
9. Russia, 
10. South Korea, 
11. Serbia, 
12. Japan.

For more details, please visit the following link:http://blogs.bettor.com/Grid-of-12-womens-teams-finalised-for-the-2012-London-Olympic-Games-Volleyball-news-a157929

Defending champion Russia unveils the team roster for 2012 FIVB World League – Volleyball news

Click on the following link:

http://blogs.bettor.com/Defending-champion-Russia-unveils-the-team-roster-for-2012-FIVB-World-League-Volleyball-news-a142234

FIVB Controller Franz Schmied passes away at 81 – Volleyball News

FIVB Controller Franz Schmied passes away at 81 – Volleyball News

Another one bites the dust. Seems like, the angel of death is hovering over the volleyball world. There have been quite a few deaths in the month of March. In the recent memory, former FIVB Controller Franz Schmied bid farewell to life at the age of 81. 

The Bern native, Schmied lived a great life and saw many different stages in volleyball. He joined the sport as player and learned the nitty-gritty of the volleyball. He became the coach and proved his skills as a great mentor. Later on, he was also offered to join the FIVB administration. He served at the International Volleyball Federation for 30 years and made tremendous contribution to volleyball.

He also took up the role of President at the Switzerland Volleyball Federation, where he served from 1968-1982. He also served in the Swiss Olympic Committee.  

He joined FIVB as Treasurer in 1978. Soon he was elected as FIVB vice-president and president of the Finance Commission in 1982. He held chairman’s office of the World League Council in 1989. 

FIVB President Jizhong Wei expressed regret about the loss of a great legend. He stated: "We all had great respect for him for his hard work and his personality. Mr. Schmied will be always in our memory as one of the founders of the modern FIVB."