Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul claimed victory against Praia Clube on Friday
Shaoxing, China, December 7, 2018 - Both Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul and VakifBank Istanbul claimed victories on the last day of pool play at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship to remain undefeated at the top of their respective pools and avoid an all-Turkish clash in the semifinals.
Saturday's matches in Shaoxing:
Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul defeated Praia Clube of Brazil 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-11, 25-21) to stay top of Pool B - though both teams were already qualified for the semifinals. In the third match of the day, VakifBank Istanbul defeated Brazilians Minas Tenis Clube 3-0 (25-23, 30-28, 25-18) to remain undefeated in Pool A.
In the two other matches played on Friday, Supreme Chonburi of Thailand were victorious against Altay Volleyball Club 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 25-17) and hosts Zhejiang Women's Volleyball won against Volero Le Cannet of France 3-2 (16-25, 25-19, 19-25, 26-24, 16-14).
Despite losing to reigning world champions VakifBank Istanbul, Minas Tenis Clube are qualified for the semifinals of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship.Friday highlights:• Turkish clubs Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul and VakifBank Istanbul won their third matches of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship on Friday to top their respective pools. Both teams were already qualified for the semifinals of the competition alongside Praia Clube and Minas Tenis Clube of Brazil.
• Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul will participate in the semifinals of the Women's Club World Championship for a fourth consecutive edition, after also winning the competition in 2015 and 2016. Reigning club world champions VakifBank Istanbul will participate in their third consecutive semifinals.
• In Pool A, Zhu Ting led the scoring for VakifBank Istanbul in their victory against Minas Tenis Clube with 18 points. Gabriela Guimaraes was the top scorer for the Brazilian club with 14 points. In the other match in the pool, Liu Yanhan scored 34 points for Zhejiang Women's Volleyball Club while Gergana Dimitrova led Volero Le Cannet with 18.