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.”

FIVB opens registration for 2014 World Championships – Volleyball news

The International Volleyball Governing Authority (FIVB) has officially opened the registration for 2014 World Championships this week.

Poland and Italy have been selected as the host countries for respective men’s and women’s competitions. Hence, these two countries will automatically be on board for being the host nations.
However, the other aspiring teams will have to go through the qualification phase and for that they need to get registered for the playoffs in the first place.

All the relevant information about the events and playoff rounds is available on the official website of the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB). The entry forms for registration can be obtained via FIVB website. The registration is open until May 1, 2012. The entry forms should be sent to FIVB’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland within the specified time period.

The FIVB World Championship dates back to 1949 when only men’s tournament was held. The women joined the FIVB World Championship in 1952. The world’s premier volleyball competition is now held with a gap of four years. The previous edition of the World Championship took place in 2010.

A total of 24 men’s teams will enter the 2014 FIVB World Championship. Poland has qualified directly for the tournament as host, leaving 23 vacancies open for other countries of the world. On the other hand, the women’s tournament will also have 24 teams. Italian squad is already confirmed for the competition as host.

Elsewhere, tour spots in both men’s and women’s tournaments will be awarded to Asian teams. Africa will send three men’s and two women’s teams in the competition, while 9 men’s and 10 women’s teams from Europe will jump on board after successful completion of qualification phase.
Three men’s and two women’s teams from South American region will qualify for the World Championships. Likewise, the North and Central America & Caribbean Federation (NORCECA) will be represented by five men’s and six women’s teams in the 2014 FIVB World Championships.

Brazilian men’s national volleyball team and Russian ladies will defend the titles. Brazil defeated Cuba in the 2010 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship, whereas Russia sidelined top rival Brazil in women’s final of the World Championship in 2010.