Russians defeat Dominicans at FIVB World Grand Prix in China

NINGBO, China.– Russia registered the second vcitory in a row at the FIVB World Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament cruising to a fairly speedy 3-0 win (25-15, 25-22, 25-8) over Dominican Republic.

Following an opening 3-1 victory over Germany on Friday, Russia dominated the first set from the beginning as their superiority has been almost faultless to close it out at 25-15.

The second set posed more problems for the European team as Dominican Republic put some solid resistance. A smart play tied the score at 21-21 but in the next rally it was Nataliya Goncharova who nailed the ball down giving Russia a 23-22 lead.

In the third set Russia quickly raced off into a 8-4 lead which they managed to extend continously, overwhelmig their opposition with great blocking and serivce skills. Alexandra Pasynkova added some great spikes to take the set 25-8.

Despite dropping their second match in two days, Dominican coach Cristian Cruz thought it was good learning experience for her young players. "We will learn from the losses and get better prepared for the World Cup," he said.

The FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup will be held in Japan from Aug. 22 to Sept. 6 with the top two finishers to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.