One down, three to go for Women's U23 Worlds semis

Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 14, 2017 - Slovenia secured the first ticket to the semifinals of the 2017 FIVB Women's U23 World Championhsip here on Thursday with a day to spare in pool play, but astounding wins by Bulgaria over Brazil and the Dominican Republic over China left the rest of the field wide open.

Hosts Slovenia not just qualified, but also secured pole position in Pool A with their straight-set sweep of Thailand, while the Dominican Republic shut out China and now have a great chance to make the semifinals of the competition for the third time in as many editions of the competition. Also in Pool A, at Arena Stozice, Argentina scored their first win of the competition, surviving seven sets and also opening up the race for the 5-8 group.

Meanwhile in Pool B at Hala Tivoli, Bulgaria caused the sensation of the week when they demolished defending champions Brazil to remain the only undefeated team of the pool. It's still not over, though, as Turkey dispatched Japan in five leaving scores to be settled on Friday, the closing day of pool play. In other Pool B action Cuba knocked down Kenya in straight sets.



All matches in Ljubljana are played under a new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.






Pool play wraps up on Friday at both venues in Ljubljana, with some huge coming up to determine the remaining three semifinalists.

In Pool A the Dominican Republic still need three sets against Thailand to take second place behind already qualified Slovenia. And in Pool B the Balkan derby between Bulgaria and Turkey will deliver at least one ticket, as Brazil can claim the other in the closing match if they beat Cuba.



Summary Statistics - 2017 FIVB Women's U23 World Championship

Highest Scorer by Day
30 – Aya Elshamy of Egypt v Dominican Republic on 10 September
22 – Aya Elshamy of Egypt v China on 11 September
22 – Madeline Guillen of Dominican Republic on 12 September
22 – Daniela Bulaich of Argentina v Dominican Republic on 12 September
24 – Sol Piccolo of Argentina v Egypt on 14 September

Top Scoring Performances
30 – Aya Elshamy of Egypt v Dominican Republic on 10 September
24 – Gaila Lopez of Dominican Republic v Egypt on 10 September
24 – Sol Piccolo of Argentina v Egypt on 14 September
22 – Aya Elshamy of Egypt v China on 11 September
22 – Madeline Guillen of Dominican Republic on 12 September
22 – Daniela Bulaich of Argentina v Dominican Republic on 12 September
20 – Wipawee Srithong of Thailand v Argentina on 11 September
20 – Solo Piccolo of Argentina v Dominican Republic on 12 September

Top Individual Blocking Performances
8 – Mayany Souza of Brazil v Japan on 12 September
6 – Sasa Planinsec of Slovenia v Dominican Republic on 11 September
6 – Beyza Arici of Turkey v Japan on 14 September
6 – Asli Kalac of Turkey v Japan on 14 September
5 – Mayany Souza of Brazil v Turkey on 11 September

Top Team Blocking Performances
19 – Turkey v Japan on 14 September
18 – Brazil v Japan on 12 September
16 – Argentina v Dominican Republic on 12 September
14 – Cuba v Bulgaria on 12 September
12 – Argentina v Egypt on 14 September
11 – Dominican Republic v Argentina on 12 September
10 – Egypt v Dominican Republic on 10 September

Top Individual Serving Performances
5 – Aya Ahmed of Egypt v China on 11 September
5 – Aya Ahmed of Egypt v Argentina on 14 September
4 – Wipawee Srithong of Thailand v Argentina on 11 September
4 – Madeline Guillen of Dominican Republic v Argentina on 12 September
4 – Mariana Moriondo of Argentina v Dominican Republic on 12 September
4 – Eva Mori of Slovenia v China on 12 September

Top Team Serving Performances
12 – Dominican Republic v Argentina on 12 September
11 – Thailand v Argentina on 11 September
10 – Slovenia v Argentina on 10 September
10 – Slovenia v China on 12 September
10 – Egypt v Argentina on 14 September

Highest Scoring Sets
23-21 Argentina v Dominican Republic (1st set) on 12 September
22-20 Argentina v Dominican Republic (6th set) on 12 September
19-17 Dominican Republic v Egypt (6th set) on 10 September

19-17 Slovenia v Dominican Republic (4th set) on 11 September

Highest Scoring Matches
222 – Dominican Republic v Argentina 4-3 (21-23, 12-15, 15-12, 17-15, 16-14, 20-22, 15-5) on 12 September
186 – Argentina v Egypt 4-3 (15-10, 15- 16-14, 14-16, 13-15, 115, 15-11) on 14 September
175 – Bulgaria v Cuba 4-3 (10-15, 12-15, 11-15, 15-10, 15-10, 15-11, 15-6) on 12 September
166 – Dominican Republic v Egypt 4-2 (12-15, 15-6, 15-8, 15-12, 15-17, 19-17) on 10 September
163 – Bulgaria v Japan 4-2 (15-13, 13-1, 11-15, 15-13, 15-12, 15-11) on 10 September
151 – Thailand v Argentina 4-2 (11-15, 15-5, 15-10, 15-12, 13-15, 15-10) on 11 September
147 – China v Egypt 4-2 (10-15, 15-11, 12-15, 15-10, 15-7, 15-7) on 11 September

Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017
FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017 - Schedule
FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017 - Teams
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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