OFFICIAL MAGAZINE / #07 / 2014

STILL ON TOP:
BRAZIL’S SUPERSTARS
SHINE IN WORLD
GRAND PRIX
THINK

Feel
 EDITORIAL 1

Cover photo Once again the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix proved coaching staff require and ensuring that there are full
Still on top – Brazil’s superstars to be another exciting and absorbing competition houses of happy well cared for fans to cheer them on.
shine in World Grand Prix
that produced some fantastic volleyball and great
entertainment for the crowds that packed the arenas Of course, in six years’ time Tokyo will host the 2020
Publication Management
and Editorial Committee
throughout the preliminary and final rounds. Olympic Games, but there is plenty of volleyball to
Fédération Internationale be played before we can even think about that, most
de Volleyball Brazil were worthy champions completing a remarkable importantly the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World
Château Les Tourelles achievement of winning 10 crowns. Great praise must Championship Italy 2014.
Edouard-Sandoz 2-4,
also go to all the record-breaking 28 teams that took
1006 Lausanne, Switzerland
part. This is the pinnacle of the women’s volleyball calendar
Tel. 0041-21-3453535
Fax 0041-21-3453545 and many teams would have used the World Grand Prix
www.fivb.org Their endeavours and commitment to their countries as preparation. It has served as the perfect appetizer for
Press Department Director meant that the level of volleyball that we saw displayed what is certain to be one of the most closely contested
Richard Baker on the courts around the world was as high as one can tournaments in recent years.
remember.
Editorial
Jeremy Inson
It is great to see the technical levels continually rise as
Design and Layout this will help spread our great sport around the globe
amethys.ch even further, as the skills on display and the heart and
passion with which the athletes play will only attract
Translation
more people to the sport of volleyball.
Libero Language Lab
www.liberos.com
I must also congratulate the Japanese Volleyball
Reproduction Association and the city of Tokyo for being such
Reproduction of any article organised, efficient, kind, considerate and welcoming
or part of the magazine
hosts.
is authorised, providing that
the source is explicitly cited
Japan have consistently been superb organisers of
Contributions events, guaranteeing everything that the players and FIVB President: Dr. Ary S. Graça F°
Typed articles are accepted
in the following languages:
French, English
Email: press@fivb.org
CONTENT / VOLLEYWORLD / #07 / 2014
Photographs
FIVB Archives
2 4 10
BIG PICTURE COVER STORY CALENDAR

VolleyWorld is available Perfect 10 – Brazil hit double

to download in English, French, figures with victory in Japan
Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic,
Russian and Chinese at
www.fivb.org

The views expressed in

VolleyWorld are not necessarily
12 14
SOCIAL MEDIA CONFEDERATIONS
those of the FIVB or its Officials.
The content of this publication
18 AVC 19 CEV 20 NORCECA
19 CAVB 20 CSV
is based on the best information
available at the time the
articles were written.
2 BIG PICTURE

The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was once again a huge success producing top
class action across the globe. Brazil may have enjoyed the ultimate prize, but there
were fascinating stories across the tournament; Japan showed their return to form
with a silver medal, but there were also impressive performances from the likes
of Puerto Rico and Kazakhstan. Overall there was a month of stunning volleyball
that culminated with six teams fighting for the ultimate glory and producing great
entertainment in Tokyo.
3
4 COVER STORY

–
Perfect 10 - Brazil
hit double figures
with victory in Japan
Olympic champions Brazil added another trophy to their collection as they continued their winning
ways with victory in the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix. It was a record-breaking win for the South
Americans and VolleyWorld looks back over their 10th victory in the tournament, another night of
glory for their coach Jose ‘Ze Roberto’ Guimares.
5
6 COVER STORY

In the end it was a showdown between the favourites and the hosts
– Brazil against Japan – and while both teams ended with a record
of four wins and one loss, the key defeat for Japan came in the final “If we analyse the whole
match which guaranteed Brazil the title.
Grand Prix it is clear that our
FIVB world champions Russia won their 12th World Grand Prix medal team played well. Japan were
when they beat China 3-2 to secure bronze.
enjoying good performances
“From the start of the Finals, when we lost to Turkey, it has been
and had won all their matches
difficult,” Ze Roberto said. “After that loss, we recovered little by
little and were finally able to win our 10th World Grand Prix. I want on the way to the final
to thank my team and my staff; we won under a lot of pressure.”
match.”
That 3-2 loss to Turkey put Brazil on the back foot from the start. But
the sign of true champions is how they recover, and they bounced Fabiana Claudino
back quickly to beat China, Belgium, Russia and with the title on the
line, Japan.

The hosts had looked in good form and delighted their home fans as
they lost only one set in four victories over Russia, China, Turkey and
Belgium. However, they were unable to handle a Brazil team that was
in rampant form and didn’t let up in a straight sets win in front of
8,000 fans at the Ariake Collesium.

Three Brazilians made it into the competition’s Dream Team; middle

blocker Fabiana Claudino, setter Danielle Lins, and opposite spiker caption
Sheilla Castro. caption
7
8 COVER STORY

“We played tactically and kept our focus throughout the match. Our Tatiana Kosheleva, who was leading scorer with 109 points, along
squad deserved to win this title.” with Turkey’s Neriman Ozsoy.

Japan may have been unable to give their home fans the result and The world champions lost their key match against Brazil, but recovered
medal that they wanted, but their silver medal finish shows that well to fight back from losing the first two sets against China to win 3-2
Masayoshi Manabe’s team are continuing their progress to the top and claim the bronze.
of the volleyball world.
Russian captain Ekaterina Kosianenko was left to lament what might have
Along with their bronze medals from the 2013 FIVB Volleyball Grand been, “We need to work a lot on all the parts of our game to improve.”
Champions Cup and the London 2012 Olympic Games, Japan are
showing that they have the ability to consistently challenge for a Ze Roberto may have been singled out for praise and received a special
place on the medal podium. award from FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° for his achievements with
Brazil and Turkish giants Fenerbahce. However, he showed why he has
“We faced Brazil, the number one team in the world and they made achieved so much by immediately switching his focus to the upcoming
me realise that there are many things we need to improve if we want FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Italy 2014 and securing
to catch up with them,” said captain Saori Kimura. “It’s good that we Brazil’s first world title.
got the silver medal, but our goal was gold.”
He said, “After a dream year in 2013 and a 10th victory in the World
Russia’s bronze was their first World Grand Prix medal since they won Grand Prix, it goes without saying that we will be striving to finally get
silver in 2009. Their success was built upon the scoring of opposite our hands on this title.”
 9

FINAL STANDINGS

OVERALL AWARDS
1 Brazil 1 Brazil
GROUP 1

2 Japan 2 Japan MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

3 Russia 3 Russia Yuko Sano (Japan)

4 Turkey 4 Turkey

5 China 5 China BEST SETTER

6 Belgium 6 USA Danielle Lins (Brazil)

7 Serbia

1 Belgium 8 South Korea BEST OUTSIDE SPIKERS

GROUP 2

2 The Netherlands 9 Italy Liu Xiaotong (China)

3 Puerto Rico 10 Germany Miyu Nagaoka (Japan)

4 Poland 11 Thailand

5 Argentina 12 Dominican Republic BEST MIDDLE BLOCKERS

6 Peru 13 Belgium Irina Fetisova (Russia)

7 Canada 14 The Netherlands Fabiana Claudino (Brazil)

8 Cuba 15 Puerto Rico

16 Poland BEST OPPOSITE SPIKER

1 Bulgaria 17 Argentina Sheilla Castro (Brazil)

GROUP 3

2 Czech Republic 18 Peru

3 Croatia 19 Canada BEST LIBERO

4 Kazakhstan 20 Cuba Yuko Sano (Japan)

5 Kenya 21 Bulgaria

6 Mexico 22 Czech Republic

7 Australia 23 Croatia

8 Algeria 24 Kazakhstan

25 Kenya

26 Mexico

27 Australia

28 Algeria
SERVING UP
THE WORLD’S
WORLD TOUR
GRAND SLAM

STAVANGER
NORWAY
24-29 JUNE

BEST VOLLEYBALL WORLD TOUR

GRAND SLAM

THE HAGUE
THE NETHERLANDS
15-20 JULY

WORLD TOUR WOMEN’S CLUB WORLD TOUR

GRAND SLAM WORLD GRAND SLAM
CHAMPIONSHIP
LONG BEACH ZURICH GSTAAD,
USA SWITZERLAND SWITZERLAND
22-27 JULY 07-11 MAY 8-13 JULY

WORLD TOUR
WORLD TOUR U17 WORLD GRAND SLAM
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
KLAGENFURT
PUERTO VALLARTA ACAPULCO AUSTRIA
MEXICO MEXICO 29 JULY - 3 AUGUST
06 - 11 MAY 15-20 JULY

U19 WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIPS

WORLD TOUR MEN’S CLUB

WORLD PORTO
GRAND SLAM CHAMPIONSHIP PORTUGAL
29 JUL. - 3 AUG.
SAO PAULO BELO HORIZONTE
BRAZIL BRAZIL
23 - 28 SEPTEMBER 5-10 MAY

WORLD TOUR
OPEN

PARANA
ARGENTINA
28 OCT. - 2 NOV.

VOLLEYBALL

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

CLICK ON EACH COMPETITION FOR MORE INFORMATION

 WORLD GRAND PRIX
WORLD TOUR U23 WORLD MEN’S WORLD FINAL ROUND
GRAND SLAM CHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONSHIP (2ND GROUP)

STARE JABLONKI MYSLOWICE KOZALIN

POLAND
POLAND POLAND POLAND
19 - 24 AUGUST 10-15 JUNE 30 AUG. - 21 SEPT. AUGUST 15-16

WORLD TOUR WORLD TOUR WORLD TOUR WORLD TOUR

GRAND SLAM OPEN GRAND SLAM OPEN
(WOMEN)

BERLIN PRAGUE MOSCOW ANAPA

GERMANY CZECH REPUBLIC RUSSIA RUSSIA

17-22 JUNE 21 - 25 MAY 11-15 JUNE 27 MAY - 1 JUNE

WORLD TOUR WORLD TOUR

GRAND SLAM OPEN

SHANGHAI XIAMEN
CHINA CHINA
29 APR. - 4 MAY 7-12 OCTOBER

WORLD GRAND PRIX WORLD TOUR YOUTH OLYMPIC

FINAL ROUND OPEN GAMES
(3RD GROUP)

SAMOKOV FUZHOU NANJING

BULGARIA CHINA CHINA

16-17 AUGUST 22 - 27 APRIL 17-27 AUGUST

WORLD LEAGUE WORLD GRAND PRIX

FINAL ROUND FINAL ROUND
(3RD GROUP) (1ST GROUP)

BURSA TOKYO
TURKEY JAPAN
28-29 JUNE 20-24 AUGUST

WOMEN’S WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP

ITALY

23 SEPT. - 12 OCT.

WORLD LEAGUE
FINAL ROUND
(1ST GROUP)
U21 WORLD WORLD TOUR WORLD TOUR
FLORENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS OPEN OPENS
ITALY (MEN)
16-20 JULY LARNACA DOHA CHENNAI
CYPRUS QATAR INDIA
23-27 JULY 4-8 NOVEMBRE 25-30 NOVEMBER

WORLD LEAGUE
WORLD TOUR FINAL ROUND
OPEN
(2ND GROUP)
MANGAUNG SYDNEY
SOUTH AFRICA AUSTRALIA
9-14 DECEMBER 11-12 JULY
12 SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media allowed thousands of volleyball fans around the world to discuss the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix. Interest in the
tournament peaked at the Finals in Tokyo with the conversation in full flow across all of the FIVB’s social media channels. Why not join the
FIVB’s online community today and connect with the following social media accounts:

2014 #FIVBGrandPrix All Star Team.

Read the article here: http://wp.me/
p4XhPw-e Japanese fans cheer on their team

Few things are stronger than the bond of

a #team. Tag your teammates and watch
the #FIVBGrandPrix Finals live this week!
Visit FIVB.org. #teamwork #champions
#love #friends #family #life #volleyball
#athlete

Leaving Tokyo with an unforgettable

experience in our luggage! Thanks
for all the support!!! #YellowTigers
#FIVBGrandPrix #finals

1-2-3-4-5-6-
7 - 8 - 9 - 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a bow all 2014 #FIVBGrandPrix

medallists!! (pic @russiavolley) Thank you @FIVBGrandPrix !!!
14 CONFEDERATIONS

CONFEDERATIONS

AVC
China aiming to build on
experience for future editions
China may have been unable to finish with a place on the
World Grand Prix medal podium, but coach ‘Jenny’ Lang Ping
is confident that the experience of the tournament will stand an
evolving team in good stead for the future.

Her side finished fifth in the finals, but after beginning with a win
over Belgium they slipped to losses to Brazil, Japan, Turkey and
finally Russia, who won the bronze medal with a 3-2 victory.

China captain Zeng Chunlei summed up the disappointment

when she said, “Today’s match was very close and it was a good
experience for us, but unfortunately we weren’t able to make the
crucial points.”

Read more online

 15

CAVB
Kenya ready for more after
enjoying first taste of World
Grand Prix
Kenya may have been unable to progress from the preliminary
rounds of the World Grand Prix, but the East African side certainly
made their mark in their debut season and are planning on
returning for future editions.

They started with wins over Mexico (3-1) and African rivals Algeria
(3-0) in Pool Q and while they began Pool S with defeats to
Croatia and Bulgaria, they finished strongly by beating Australia
3-2.

“We did our best in this match and in our debut in the World
Grand Prix,” Kenya coach David Lungaho said. “We have to live
and fight another day. We gained lot of experience this summer
and I hope next year we will be back better and stronger.”

Read more online

CEV
Turkey show mettle with fourth
place finish
Turkey demonstrated that they are continuing their proud record
as a volleyball nation by finishing fourth in the World Grand Prix.

They narrowly missed out on the bronze medal after they slipped
to a 3-2 loss to Russia in the tournament, but they finished on a
high with a 3-1 victory over Belgium.

“Congratulations again to my team, not only for the victory

today but for the wonderful World Grand Prix that we have
played,” coach Massimo Barbolini said. “We finished on the
same points as Russia and I think we did very great things.

Read more online

16 CONFEDERATIONS

CSV
Peru coach expects bright future
Peru endured a tough baptism in the World Grand Prix, but at
the end they were able to look back on a tournament in which
they had won three matches and had played with great heart and
technique.

They hosted Pool J and enjoyed a 3-1 win over Canada. They also
hosted Pool M and beat Cuba 3-0 and then repeated the victory
over the Caribbean nation in Argentina with a 3-2 win in Pool N.

They were results that filled Peru coach Natalia Malaga with great
confidence for the future.

“I’m convinced that these two teams have learnt and grown a lot
since the beginning of the tournament,” she said. “There’s a lot
of potential to continue working and we plan to do it together.”

Read more online

NORCECA
Puerto Rico continue rise in
volleyball world
Puerto Rico’s women continued their impressive run of form in
the World Grand Prix when they finished third in Finals Group 2.

While the Caribbean outfit were unable to reach the Group 1

Finals, they did enough throughout the tournament to show that
they are likely be a threat to the major nations for many years to
come.

They began with a win over Argentina and ended the tournament
by beating Poland 3-2 to secure third place.

“We are very happy with tonight’s result but also with the work
done throughout the tournament,” coach Jose Mieles said. “I
think this is a big moment for Puerto Rico in volleyball.

Read more online