Italy and Brazil take Pool B spots in the second round

Volleyball powerhouses Italy and Brazil will be among the eight national teams that will compete in the second round of the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship after they claimed their second victory in the tournament on Friday in Aguascalientes.

The two teams are guaranteed the top two spots in Pool B and will play each other on Saturday, at 11:00 local time (17:00 UTC), to finish first in the group ahead of the second round of the tournament. Japan and Türkiye have also advanced after the conclusion of the second day of matches in Mexico.

The tournament is streamed live on the Volleyball World YouTube channel.

The Italians, who finished second in the most recent edition of the U20 World Championship, in 2021, also in Mexico, got their second straight-set victory in the tournament with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-13) triumph against the Dominican Republic.

Outside hitter Stella Nervini was, for the second-straight day, the leading Italian scorer with 15 points – opposite Anna Adelusi also reached double digits with ten. On the Dominican side, outside hitter Katielle Vargas had the most productive performance, with eight points.

A few hours later, Brazil, who have six world titles in the U20 age group, had a dominating performance against Tunisia, also securing their second 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-15) victory in Aguascalientes.

Middle blocker Luzia Nezzo, with six kills and seven blocks, and outside hitter Aline Segato, with seven kills, two aces and four blocks, carried the Brazilian offense, contributing 13 points each. Outside hitter and team captain Dhouha Engazou scored six points for Tunisia.

**2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship: Match Schedule and Results**

The situation in Pool C, on the other hand, is entirely different as each team will enter the last day of pool play with one win and deepening only on their own efforts to advance to the next round.

Argentina, who had lost to Poland on Thursday, came back stronger against Serbia on Friday and secured a crucial 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18) victory thanks to 19 points from outside hitter Nicole Perez and 13 from middle blocker Avril Garcia.

Later, China, who had lost to Serbia, brought their best game against Poland and walked away with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-19) win. Chinese captain Yushan Zhuang left the court with 19 points, followed by fellow outside hitter Yifan Wang, who tallied 13.

On Saturday, Serbia will face Poland at 11:00 local time (17:00 UTC) and Argentina will play China at 14:00 local time (20:00 UTC). The winners will advance to the next round.

In Pool A, Japan were the first to secure their spot in the next round. The Asians were on the winning side of a five-set battle with Egypt, prevailing 3-2 (25-17, 19-25, 20-25, 25-16, 15-12) to get their second victory in Leon. The Japanese got 21 points from opposite Tsugumi Fukuzawa while her twin sister and outside hitter Megumi produced 16. Outside hitter Toqaallah Eassa registered 18 points for Egypt.

"Although we lost two sets, I didn't feel we weren't playing well," outside hitter Ai Hirota commented. "I thought that Egypt just did better than us on those sets. We just focused on trying to play the way we are used to and to get the result, and we did it."

On Saturday, at 20:00 local time (02:00 UTC, Sunday), Egypt will face Mexico, who took Thailand down 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-14) on Friday with 13 points from opposite Alexa Ramirez, and the winners will join the Japanese in the next round.

Based in Aguascalientes, Pool D has a similar scenario, with Türkiye getting to two wins and moving to the next round. The Europeans booked their tickets with a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14) win over the United States in a match where outside hitter Eylul Durgun and opposite Beren Yesilirmak stepped up to tally 15 points each.

With one win in two matches, the Americans will now decide their faith in the tournament against the Netherlands, who overcame Cuba 3-0 (28-26, 25-16, 25-14) and are now in second place in the pool - their duel will begin at 17:00 local time (23:00 UTC). Middle blocker Britte Stuut scored 12 points in the European victory against the Caribbean.

Pool play will be completed on Saturday, with eight more matches in Leon and Aguascalientes. After a day off on Sunday, the second round of the tournament will begin on Monday.

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