The 2014 Women's Volleyball World Championship took place in Italy from September 23 to October 12 . In addition to the host, 23 other teams took part. In the final, the USA beat China 3-1 and won the World Cup for the first time. In the game for third place, the Brazilians beat the hosts' team 3-1 .
The tournament began with a preliminary round in four groups (A – D) with six teams each. As in the following group matches, the internationally customary point scoring applied: In the event of a 3-0 or 3-1, the winner received three points, the loser received nothing. If the match was 3-2, there were two points for the winner and one for the loser. The four best teams in each group reached the second round, which was held in two groups (E and F) with eight participants each. Results against opponents from the first round have been adopted. The three best teams from each of the two groups reached the third round. There they were divided into two new groups (G and H). The two group winners of the second round were set. The two best teams in these groups qualified for the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals played the final, the losers played for third place.
game schedule
The draw for the first round took place on March 10, 2014 in Parma .
Every national team that competed at the World Cup in Italy had a squad of fourteen players.
media
In Germany had Sport1 acquired the broadcasting rights. The broadcaster showed all games with German participation and a total of at least 15 World Cup games live on free TV .
Venues
The world championship was held in six Italian cities. The games took place in Assago ( Milan ), Bari , Modena , Rome , Trieste and Verona . The largest hall was the Mediolanum Forum in Assago with 12,500 seats; the final was held there. The second largest venue was the PalaLottomatica in Rome with 10,700 seats. In the other halls (PalaTrieste in Trieste, PalaOlimpia in Verona, PalaPanini in Modena and PalaFlorio in Bari) there was space for between 4,500 and 7,000 spectators.
The continental qualifiers were played from April 2012 to July 2014. Italy was set as the host. 141 nations worldwide competed for the remaining 23 places in the final round.
Europe
Russia as European champions and the European championship finalist Germany were directly qualified. The remaining European teams identified six further participants in the qualification. In the first round in May 2013, 29 teams competed in seven groups. The group winners reached the third round, while the group runners-up played three more places in an additional round in October. The third round with a further ten seeded teams took place from January 3rd to 5th, 2014. The winners of the five groups of four and the two best runners-up qualified for the World Cup finals. The teams from Belgium , Azerbaijan , Croatia , Bulgaria and Turkey as well as the best runners-up Serbia and the Netherlands qualified as group winners .
Africa
The African qualification was held in three stages. In the first round in July 2013, 35 teams competed in ten groups. The second round took place in October 2013 with 25 teams. In the third round, which was played in January 2014, the fourteen best teams of the second round competed. The two winners of the groups of seven, Cameroon and Tunisia , qualified for the World Cup.
Asia
In Asia, a total of eight teams played in three groups in June 2013, the winners of which qualified for the next round, which also included five seeded teams in September. The winners and runners-up of the two groups of four took part in the world championship. Japan , China , Thailand and Kazakhstan were successful .
North and Central America
The NORCECA qualification began in 2012. In the first round, eight tournaments were held in groups of four or three, in which 23 teams qualified for the second round. The second round with six groups was held in summer 2013. The six group winners, the six second and the best third reached the third round. There they formed five groups of four with seven other teams that had been placed in the NORCECA ranking list because of their position. These games were played in May and June 2014. The group winners (USA, Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic) qualified for the World Cup. The sixth NORCECA participant (Mexico) was determined in a playoff round in July 2014 with the four best runners-up in the third round.
South America
Brazil qualified as the winner of the 2013 South American Volleyball Championship. Three other teams determined the second participant in a tournament from October 18-20, 2013. Host Argentina prevailed.
United States
Brazil
People's Republic of China
Italy
