Road To The Grand Prix Finals

For Volleywood’s 2011 World Grand Prix Full Coverage, click THIS.

After 3 weeks of great volleyball, 8 of the world’s best teams have qualified for the Final Round of the 2011 World Volleyball Grand Prix. The finalists are: the host CHINA! Olympic Champion BRAZIL! Grand Prix Champion USA! World Champion RUSSIA! European Champion ITALIA! European League Champion SERBIA! 2010 World Champion Bronze Medalist JAPAN! Asian Champion THAILAND!

The Final Round will be from August 24th until August 28th in Macau, China.

Defending Grand Prix Champions USA are in the same pool as Brazil, Japan and Italy while current World Champions Russia will face host China, Serbia and Thailand. The top 2 teams from each pool advance to the Semifinal Round.

Below is the Final Round schedule:

It’s hard to predict who’s going to WIN the 2011 Grand Prix but our top favorites so far are Russia, Brazil and USA. Watch out for Serbia as well as they could be the dark horse of the Final Round. We hope Japan can bring back the game they displayed last year. They’ve been under performing since the tournament started. Italy, China and Thailand have what it takes to cause major surprises but they’d have to do a lot of work against the top teams we’ve mentioned.

What about you? Who do YOU think will WIN the Grand Prix?

See Below! Enjoy and Share!

***

Italy 0-3 Japan

Italy vs Japan Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

Italy captain Eleonora Lo Bianco: “Congratulations to Japan, they played a great match especially in defense. We are sorry to miss the opportunity to play for the fifth place. We started well in the game but did not find the patience to play against this team.”

Japan captain Erika Araki: “We played well today in both our serve and defense. Although we started slow in the second set of the match but we gained momentum and won a lot of points in the second half of the set.”

FIVB Images:

***

Brazil 3-1 USA

Brazil vs USA Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

USA head coach Hugh McCutcheon: “I’m happy with the way we played today though not with the result. I think for both teams the match wasn’t for anything except for the moment of the competition, but I think it’s important for the sport, especially for my team, that we came out and played hard. We wanted to win and did everything we could, but we couldn’t turn a couple of plays at the right time. And I think the Brazil team played with the same energy and emotion. I’m very proud of our effort. We made some improvements today that will help us in the upcoming matches, and I hope the two teams can play in the final.”

Brazil head coach José Roberto Guimarães: “We saw a very good level of volleyball this afternoon. I’m very happy with the result, and I’m even happier that both teams played well. Natalia Pereira returned to the team, which is very important to us in the future matches. It’s always difficult to play against USA, they play consistent volleyball.”

FIVB Images:

***

Serbia 3-0 Thailand

Serbia vs Thailand Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

Serbia captain Jelena Nikolic: “Today Thailand played very well but it was not enough, because our players were more concentrated and powerful at crucial moments of the match. There were some interesting actions so it was an exciting game for the spectators. I wish all the best to the Thailand team in the next match.”

Thailand head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai: “I appreciate the effort of my players. They tried to show the best performance and to follow all the tactics planned, but there were still some errors and we were just not good enough to win the game. We will keep this spirit, we have gained a lot from this match and I hope my players will continue to learn and to play better for the next game.”

Serbia head coach Zoran Terzic: “It was a difficult game for us, maybe some of my players expected an easy win. There were many situations when we were nervous, especially when Thailand displayed good defense. But like my captain said, at the crucial moments we won through with our power and experience. Today we did not play to our normal standard like we did against Russia. Congratulations to the Thailand team, they played very well and it was a surprise for me that they won against China last night. And congratulations to my team for making the semi-final at our first participation in the FIVB World Grand Prix.”

FIVB Images:

***

China 0-3 Russia

China vs Russia Full Match

FIVB Press Conference:

Russia captain Maria Borisenko: “I think we had a good game today. Our organization is good and we did a good job today.”

China head coach Yu Juemin: “We were playing on the back of two losses. Our young players tried really hard and gave it all against strong Russia team, but today’s game showed there is a gap between the two teams, especially at blocking and attack. Our performance in the third set was more consistent, especially number nine Yang Junjing who put up a good performance in fast attack.”

FIVB Images:

***

Brazil 3-0 Japan:

Brazil vs Japan Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

Japan captain Erika Araki: “We played against a very good team. Brazil are powerful and they have a height advantage. We played a good game but still we lost. For tomorrow we will do our best again and hope to achieve better results.”

Brazil captain Fabiana Claudino: “It was a good game. Japan is well-known for their good defense and unrelenting spirit. We feel both our attack and defense are strong today which won us the match.”

Japan head coach Masayoshi Manabe: “We played against the world number one team. We always learn from them and try to make our game better. We will adjust our game and try again to do our best tomorrow.”

FIVB Images:

***

Russia 1-3 Serbia

Russia vs Serbia Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

Russia captain Maria Borisenko: “It wasn’t a very good game today because we made a lot of mistakes, but tomorrow’s match against China is a new game and we hope to play better than today.”

Serbia captain Jelena Nikolic: “We are happy to reach the semi-finals after only our second match. Today we played very well, from our aggressive serves to our blocks, and that’s what made the difference. I am very happy because it has taken us a long time to get a win against Russia, and for sure this victory gives us more confidence for the semi-final.”

FIVB Images:

***

China 1-3 Thailand

China vs Thailand Match Video

FIVB Press Conference:

China captain Wei Qiuyue: “In today’s match the Thailand team were better than us psychologically and performed better in all aspects of the game. For us there was a big gap in our performance, especially at the beginning of the match. We were nervous and could not perform to our ability. We improved in the third set, but the Thailand team continued to play well and we were passive with our play. This match is very good learning experience for us.”

Thailand captain Wilavan Apinyapong: “It was actually very hard to score points against China, and we had to utilize our best techniques to get the points. We are happy with the win, and good luck to China in the next match.”

FIVB Images:

USA 3-2 Italy

USA vs Italy Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

USA captain Jennifer Tamas: “Italy played really well today, they were really consistent. We worked so hard at the beginning of the match and had to focus on making good play after good play. It was a good win for us, a close and tough battle the whole time. I am really happy the way it went, and we are really looking forward to tomorrow (match vs Brazil).”

Italy head coach Massimo Barbolini: “I agree with my captain that we played better than yesterday. Actually it is not possible to play worse than yesterday. They played a good game. Congratulations to USA, it has been a really good match. We had our chances in the 4th set, but USA defended in a wonderful way and we didn’t have the passion for the ball. So USA deserved to win.”

FIVB Images:

***

Serbia 3-2 China

Serbia vs China Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

China captain Wei Qiuyue: “First of all congratulations to Serbia. It was a great contest between the two teams. Our young team missed a lot of opportunities during the match. The main issue is that there were too many ups and downs, especially in the first half of the match, which gave us a lot of problems.”

Serbia captain Jelena Nikolic: “Thank you to China for the congratulations. Our team did not play the best match today, but we never stopped fighting. China played very well today, but we won with our fighting spirit.”

China head coach Yu Juemin: “Congratulations to Serbia for winning the match. For our young China team, it was the first time for most of our players to take part in the Finals of the FIVB World Grand Prix. Tonight is the first match, and I am delighted with the level of play of my team. In terms of skills, it was one of the better all-round performances in the WGP. Yes we have lost this match, and there is still a gap in terms of techniques when compare with some of the stronger teams, but we have demonstrated the characteristics of our play through our fast attacks and settings.”

FIVB Images:

***

Russia 3-1 Thailand

Russia vs Thailand Match Video:

FIVB Press Conference:

Thailand captain Wilavan Apinyapong: “Congratulations to Russia. We tried our best and gave our best performance. We did not get the good result because the opponent Russia team is very strong and they gave a good performance. We are very happy to be here and we will try to do our best for the next game.”

Russia captain Maria Borisenko: “Thank you to the Thailand team for the good game. Our team had a good game. Sometimes we made mistakes because of lapse of concentration.”

FIVB Images:

***

Brazil 3-0 Italy

Brazil vs Italy Full Match:

FIVB Press Conference:

Italy coach Massimo Barbolini: “First of all congratulations to Brazil, today they have given us a lesson on volleyball. We must think about what we need to do next. Today a lot of problems were made by the good game of Brazil, while some other situations were made by our mistakes. We played very badly and against Brazil we cannot play like this.”

Brazil coach José Roberto Guimarães: “Thank you Massimo for the compliments. I am very happy with my team. We played very well. Our serves, blocks and defence did a very good job. Tomorrow we have a hard match against Japan. Every day we have one final, and we have to play better and better every day.”

FIVB Images:

***

USA 3-0 Japan

USA vs Japan Full Match:

FIVB Press Conference:

USA coach Hugh McCutcheon: “I like the way USA team played today, I thought we came out and played with good energy. In terms of the service line, we were strong so that was good. Japan is always a challenging opponent because the of the speed in which they play and the way they battle which is the case today so they are a good team and we are very happy to win over such a very strong opponent.”

Japan captain Erika Araki: “We lost in straight sets so we will still keep going in the final round. We still have more matches and we will do our best.”

FIVB Images:

***