Rotterdam, Netherlands, 19 July, 2018 – Debutants Italy continued their dream run by beating the hosts the Netherlands in Thursday’s women’s quarterfinals to confirm a semifinal clash with Paralympic champions USA on Friday.
That was one of the outstanding story lines on an action packed quarterfinal day at the Sitting Volleyball World Championship in Rotterdam (women) and Eindhoven (men).
The major headline in the men’s tournament was the intriguing clash between 2014 world champions Bosnia and Herzegovina and 2017 European champions Russia.
It was fourth seeded Bosnia and Herzegovina who pounded out a victory in four sets to ensure their spot in the semis on Saturday in The Hague and keep alive their hopes of a fourth World Championship title in five editions.
Women
All four quarterfinals were exceptional matches starting with USA’s dominant performance against fourth seeds the Ukraine followed by 2010 & 2014 world champions China’s efficient straight sets win over Canada.
The last two quarterfinals saw Russia beat Brazil in a superb four-set match before Italy pulled off another huge scalp, ensuring the Netherlands won’t participate in the semifinals for the first time in World Championship history.
| WOMEN – Rotterdam – Quarterfinals |
| Thu Jul 19 | 18:00 | Italy v Netherlands | 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 12:00 | Slovenia v Croatia | 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-10) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 11:00 | USA v Ukraine | 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-13) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 14:00 | Hungary v Egypt | 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 13:00 | China v Canada | 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-17) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 16:00 | Japan v Finland | 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-19) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 15:00 | Russia v Brazil | 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 26-24) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 19:00 | Iran v Rwanda | 3-0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-13) |
Men
It was equally exciting in the men’s competition in Eindhoven where not only were defending champions Bosnia & Herzegovina impressive in their four-set win over Russia but likewise, Brazil were equally strong in their straight sets win against USA to set up a repeat of the 2014 World Championship final in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Paralympic champions Iran defeated Paralympic bronze medallists Egypt in four tough sets to set up a semifinal against the Ukraine who were too polished for China in the quarterfinal match and reached the World Championship semifinals for the first time.
| MEN – Eindhoven – Quarterfinals |
| Thu Jul 19 | 11:00 | Croatia v Rwanda | 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-21) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 12:00 | Ukraine v China | 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-20) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 13:00 | Iraq v Japan | 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-21) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 14:00 | Iran v Egypt | 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 15:00 | Germany v Poland | 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-21) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 16:00 | Brazil v USA | 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-20) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 18:00 | Netherlands v Kazakhstan | 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-17) |
| Thu Jul 19 | 19:00 | Bosnia & Herzegovina v Russia | 3-1 (25-13, 25-20, 17-25, 25-22) |
Semifinals
The women’s semifinals on Friday at the Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam sees China take on Russia at 13:00 and Italy play USA at 15:00 while Canada play Brazil and the Netherlands take on Ukraine in classification matches for positions 5 to 8.
Meanwhile, Croatia v Egypt (places 15-16), Slovenia v Hungary (places 13-14), Rwanda v Finland (places 11-12), Iran v Japan (places 9-10) play at the Topsportcentrum in Rotterdam to determine their final positions in the tournament.
| WOMEN – Rotterdam – Semifinals & Classification |
| Fri Jul 20 |
18:00 | L25 v L26 | Netherlands v Ukraine cl 5-8 (Match No 37) |
| Fri Jul 20 | 12:00 | L31 v L32 | Croatia v Egypt pl 15-16 (Match No 34) |
| Fri Jul 20 | 11:00 | L27 v L28 | Canada v Brazil cl 5-8 (Match No 38) |
| Fri Jul 20 | 14:00 | W31 v W32 | Slovenia v Hungary pl 13-14 (Match No 36) |
| Fri Jul 20 | 13:00 | W27 v W28 | China v Russia Semifinal (Match No 39) |
| Fri Jul 20 | 16:00 | L29 v L30 | Rwanda v Finland pl 11-12 (Match No 33) |
| Fri Jul 20 | 15:00 | W25 v W26 | Italy v USA Semifinal (Match No 40) |
| Fri Jul 20 | 19:00 | W29 v W30 | Iran v Japan pl 9-10 (Match No 35) |
Friday is a travel day for the men as they move to The Hague where it will be the first time since London 2012 where Egypt, Brazil, Iran and Bosnia & Herzegovina are not all featuring in the semfinals of a major tournament.
| MEN – The Hague – Semifinals & Classification |
| Sat Jul 21 | 11:00 | L31 v L32 | Rwanda v Japan pl 15-16 (Match No 34) |
| Sat Jul 21 | 12:00 | L25 v L26 | China v Egypt cl 5-8 (Match No 37) |
| Sat Jul 21 | 13:00 | W31 v W32 | Croatia v Iraq pl 13-14 (Match 36) |
| Sat Jul 21 | 14:00 | L27 v L28 | USA v Russia cl 5-8 (Match No 38) |
| Sat Jul 21 | 15:00 | L29 v L30 | Netherlands v Poland pl 11-12 (Match No 33) |
| Sat Jul 21 | 16:00 | W25 v W26 | Ukraine v Iran Semifinal (Match No 39) |
| Sat Jul 21 | 18:00 | W29 v W30 | Kazakhstan v Germany pl 9-10 (Match No 35) |
| Sat Jul 21 | 19:00 | W27 v W28 | Brazil v Bosnia & Herzegovina Semifinal (Match No 40) |
Quick Links
- Tournament Website
- Live Streaming and Videos
- News
- Day Four – Men’s favourites advance through to quarterfinals
- Day Three – Italy surprise as women’s quarterfinals confirmed
- Day Two – First quarterfinalists confirmed
- Day One – China and Bosnia & Herzegovina collect wins
- Hosts seek return to glory days
- Brazil seek Tokyo 2020 place
- Hesham Elshwikh aims to upset
- Ones to Watch
- Tokyo 2020 tickets on the line as Sitting Volleyball World Championships set to go
- Sitting Volleyball World Championships return home
- 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championships Schedule – Update
- Sitting Volleyball World Championship 2018 pools and schedule confirmed
- Teams announced for 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championships
- Photos
- Venues
- Tickets
- Media Accreditation
- Qualification Process
- World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Championships history
