The Following is a press release from FIVB:
Netherlands Impressive at FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
Lausanne, Switzerland, August 3, 2015 – The
Netherlands completed their FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix stint with a victory in the Group 2 Final Four by beating Poland 3-0 and have maintained a perfect win-record in the 2015 edition, securing promotion to Group 1 next year.
In Group 1, the Dutch team can hunt for another World Grand Prix victory as they won the title in 2007.
The team made an unprecedented achievement in their team history, as they have never remained without a defeat in any World Grand Prix edition. Last year, they failed to win the final of the Final Four as Belgium defeated them in the tiebreaker.
Anne Buijs proved to be a powerful weapon for the Netherlands this season as she became the team’s top scorer with 100 points. Lonneke Sloetjes was the top scorer in the final with 19 points, became the second best Dutch scorer with a total of 89 points.
Runners-up Poland ended their World Grand Prix campaign with five wins – the same number of wins they had in 2014. Poland, however, never won more matches since 2010.
As runners-up to Netherlands in Group 2, Poland finished in 14th place in the World Grand Prix final ranking after finishing 15th in 2013 and 16th in 2014.
Czech Republic won third place after they defeated Puerto Rico 3-1, finishing 15th in the World Grand Prix final ranking. In their debut season in 2013, they finished 14th, and then came 22nd in last year’s edition.
Puerto Rico’s Karina Ocasio was the top scorer of Group 2 with a total of 146 points. In the third place match between Puerto Rico and Czech Republic, Ocasio managed to score only 11 points. Five players – four from Czech Republic and one from Puerto Rico) scored more points in the third place match.
Main Photo Credit: FIVB
