The 2018 Women's Volleyball World Championship took place in Japan from September 29th to October 20th, 2018 . A total of 24 teams took part in the final round. The USA and the hosts were the defending champions . Serbia became world champion ahead of Italy and China .
The tournament began with a preliminary round in four groups of six teams each. As in the following group games, the internationally customary point scoring applied: In the event of a 3: 0 or 3: 1, the winner receives three points, the loser receives nothing. If the match is 3-2, there are two points for the winner and one for the loser. The number of victories was decisive for placing in the group. In the event of equality, the number of points decided first, then the rate quotient (division method) and finally the ball point quotient (division method). The four best teams in each group reached the second round, which is held in two groups of eight participants each. They took away the points from the first round. The three best teams from each of the two groups reached the third round. There they were divided into two new groups. 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.
Eight places were played out in the qualification of the CEV . In the first qualifying round, eight teams from smaller countries competed in two groups of four, the winners of which progressed to the next round. The second round took place from May 23 to June 4, 2017. It was held in six groups with six teams each. The group winners qualified for the final round, while the group runners-up determined the last two European World Cup participants in the next round from August 22nd to 27th.
Africa got two starting places. The winner and the runner-up of the African Nation Championship, which the CAVB held from October 7th to 14th in Yaoundé , were qualified .
Four other teams from Asia qualified alongside the seeded hosts Japan . In the AVC qualification, only one tournament for Central Asia took place in the first round. In January 2017, Iran prevailed against the Maldives and Nepal in Malé . North Korea and Fiji automatically advanced through the withdrawal of their competitors.
The winners of the preliminary rounds met some seeded teams in the second round in September 2017. The two best teams in both groups qualified for the World Cup finals.
The defending champion USA was automatically qualified. In the NORCECA qualification , six more starting places were awarded. At the NORCECA championship 2017 in Langley , tournament winners Canada and finalist Cuba secured two starting places for the world championships. Two more qualification tournaments took place in mid-October. In the Dominican Republic the hosts and Puerto Rico prevailed, while in Trinidad and Tobago Mexico and the hosts were also successful.
South America
South America got two starting places. One of the two places went to the winner of the volleyball South American Championship 2017, which took place in Cali from August 15 to 19 . Here, put Brazil through. The CSV then held another qualification tournament in Arequipa from October 11th to 16th . Argentina won this tournament .
Serbia
Netherlands
Italy
People's Republic of China
Japan
United States
Bulgaria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Slovenia
Greece
