Italy and Brazil Advance to Women's Volleyball Nations League Semi-Finals

Italy and Brazil eased into the semi-finals of the Women’s Volleyball Nations League Finals in Macau on Wednesday, with comprehensive wins over the Netherlands and Japan respectively.

Defending champions Italy beat their Dutch opponents 3-0 in the first quarter-final at Macau East Asian Games Dome, while Brazil dropped a set before rebounding to down Japan 3-1, winning 24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20.

Turkey and Canada will battle it out for one of the other two places in the last four in the first of Thursday’s encounters, with China taking on top seeds the USA later.

Brazil, the second-ranked team in the tournament, will take on Italy for a place in the final, and will be looking to Ana Cristina to repeat the heroics that got them past Japan.

Cristina contributed an impressive match-high of 30 points, spiked at a 54 per cent success rate and added three kill blocks and two aces to her tally.

“It was a really tough match today, but at the same time, I was so comfortable on the court with my teammates,” Ana Cristina said afterwards. “We helped each other so much. I think we are improving on that with each game.