2014 FIVB World Grand Prix

    Quote from Leonardo.D

    Peruvian defense is outstanding, but their players cant score. Even Leyva. It is nice to see this kind of defense.
    Belgium is controlling the match. Rousseaux is playing very well! But ok, peruvian block doesnt exists.

    Well, Peruvian MBs just disappeared :what: earlier they had Zamudio and Chihuan, but both are too old, so in team appeared Garcia and Mirtha Uribe, but in last years they also disappeared. In this season we saw Clarivet Ylliescas and Coraima Gomez - Ylliescas is injured and why Gomez is absent I don't know. Because of it Andrea Urrutia is the only nominal MB and Karla Ortiz who's regular OH has to play as second MB :whistle:
    Overall Peruvian team is quite inexperienced, players like Palacios, Uceda's sisters, Aquino, Soto, Keldibekova, La Rosa aren't here at all :whistle: so we see younger ones like still too weak to be leading scorer Maguilaura Frias, but she's only 17... the biggest hope here is of course Angela Leyva, but she alone can't do everything...

    Gold medal - World League 2013 Prediction Game
    Bronze medal - World League 2012 Prediction Game

    Quote from kondzio

    Well, Peruvian MBs just disappeared :what: earlier they had Zamudio and Chihuan, but both are too old, so in team appeared Garcia and Mirtha Uribe, but in last years they also disappeared. In this season we saw Clarivet Ylliescas and Coraima Gomez - Ylliescas is injured and why Gomez is absent I don't know. Because of it Andrea Urrutia is the only nominal MB and Karla Ortiz who's regular OH has to play as second MB :whistle:
    Overall Peruvian team is quite inexperienced, players like Palacios, Uceda's sisters, Aquino, Soto, Keldibekova, La Rosa aren't here at all :whistle: so we see younger ones like still too weak to be leading scorer Maguilaura Frias, but she's only 17... the biggest hope here is of course Angela Leyva, but she alone can't do everything...


    Thanks for the info Kondzio! You are right, there isnt any MB in peruvian squad. Andrea Urrutia is just 17 yo. Also, peruvian setter is very young (18). If I´m not wrong, the base of this peruvian senior team is the young team which finished 4th in YWCH Thailand 2013. Frias, Leyva and Urrutia are promising players, but you said, they are unexperienced. However, what a defense system!
    Congratulations to Belgium! They just struggled a bit in first set, then they controlled all the match. Dirickx and Aelbrechdt played in a superb way! :obey:

    3:1 Argentina over Cuba. At last we could win!, good after the embarassment of yesterday.


    Elina Rodríguez is great (19 pts), soon she will probably be a regular starter IMO. If we only could find two tall and decent MBs, we could have a great team.

    Yes, it was a very important win! We already beat them in last Panamerican Cup, but today was a key match. I think the last spot for the Final 4 in Poland will be fight between Puerto Rico, Argentina, Cuba and Peru (in this order). Cuba and Peru are the youngest team in the tournment, so they have less chances.
    We are missing Nizetich (captain) and Sosa, who isnt such a taller MB but is a good blocker and attack very fast. However, she is injured now.
    Orduna already mentioned the most important tournment is the WCH, so Argentina will be testing players in the WGP. Elina Rodriguez and Sol Piccolo are two promising OHs, so this tournment is their big chance.

    So happy for Dutch team! 2 wins in a row :super: Judith Pietersen has been a monster spiker so far this year, hopefully she keeps that great shape. What's so interesting about this team is that usually teams put one defensive OH aside libero and one offensive OH to receive better, but none of those (Plak and Buijs) is even close to being a defensive one :D in WCH, Stam or Grothues may be really helpful...last year Renkema was tried but she was so weak and couldn't do her job (reception and defense). I think she's just a short player like Guldeniz Pasaoglu.

    Quote from Emil

    So happy for Dutch team! 2 wins in a row :super: Judith Pietersen has been a monster spiker so far this year, hopefully she keeps that great shape. What's so interesting about this team is that usually teams put one defensive OH aside libero and one offensive OH to receive better, but none of those (Plak and Buijs) is even close to being a defensive one :D in WCH, Stam or Grothues may be really helpful...last year Renkema was tried but she was so weak and couldn't do her job (reception and defense). I think she's just a short player like Guldeniz Pasaoglu.


    I presume Stam will retire..


    I really like Plak-Buijs duo, though they are indeed vulnerable in reception, as Bulgaria proved in Yeltsin Cup.


    So far, Beliën really surprised me, taking Steenbergen's spot in starting-six. Yvon has developed really well..I hope she will find a good club for next season!

    Quote from Leonardo.D

    They are playing in Mexico. Bulgaria is playing with their B team. But it is still surprising. Mercy Moim already scored 13 pts!

    It is not a joke. The girls are practically uncoached. And Kenyans are jumpers.

    Quote from Matthias

    Kazakh coach taking time-out at 15:24 :aww: I simply hate it when that happens, like that is gonna help at that score.


    Those timeouts drive me crazy, too. :D


    I remember there was a time when some team timeouts (Japan and Brazil, 3 years ago) drove me nuts.


    When they would trail in matches, they would call their first timeout at the 15th point. The technical timeout at 16. Then they call their last timeout at the 17th point.


    It slowed the game so much I figured I would just go to the kitchen and have a little snack and I'd come back to the match without missing much. :D

    Ivana Miloš has score 40 ponits (16 blocks) in 3 matches :woohoo:

    Polish Players when came to sport hall for training got suprise- court was full of birds' droppings lol

    Peru lol

    From room where is Paszek, Medynska and Smarzek, in 2nd day.. disappeard 2 beds. Noone from hotel can say how did happen lol

    During training very close to one of Person from medical area from roof fell.. bird's egg lol

    Quote from Matthias

    Kazakh team leading all set just to lose 24:26 in the end....It's incredible how Czech team NEVER attacks with the MBs, I don't remember a single set to Sajdova or Trnkova in the whole 2nd set and not many in 1st either :white:


    Smutna is not comfident with her MBS...Sajdova is a good slide attacker, she at least needs to get some balls.

    Quote from Emil

    Smutna is not comfident with her MBS...Sajdova is a good slide attacker, she at least needs to get some balls.

    So why doesn't Parisi change Smutna for Vincourova? :whistle:

    Gold medal - World League 2013 Prediction Game
    Bronze medal - World League 2012 Prediction Game

    Quote from kondzio

    So why doesn't Parisi change Smutna for Vincourova? :whistle:

    Probably because CZE is up 2:0 with Smutna as setter ;) But I don't like their style of play....and I find it rude of Parisi that he still speaks Italian to the team, he could at least speak English, half of the team has no idea what he tells them...