The Women's Volleyball World Championship in Thailand is entering the knockout phase. After the group stage concluded on August 27, the 16 teams that will compete for the quarterfinals are already known. In the first part of the tournament, several volleyball players stood out with strong individual statistics, some of whom did not even advance with their teams.
Top Scorer
Isabelle Haak (Sweden) – the captain of "Imoco Conegliano" was the leader in total points scored (95 – 85 from attack, 5 from block, 5 from service). Against Egypt alone, she scored an impressive 39 points. Haak was also the most exploited attacker with 179 attacks, 85 of which were successful (47.49% efficiency).
Middle Blockers and Blocking
Diana Meliushkyna (Ukraine) topped the ranking with 15 kill blocks, averaging five per match. She was followed by Mexican Joselyn Urias (13) and the duo Yulia Kudiss (Brazil) and Nika Milosic (12). Polish representatives Magdalena Stysiak and Agnieszka Korneluk also made it into the top 5.
Serve
Martyna Czyrniańska (Poland) became the surprise. The 22-year-old receiver, debuting at a world championship, made 10 aces with only two errors (18.52% efficiency).
Setters
Sarah van Aalen (Netherlands) shone with precision – 131 successful sets and only one error (52.61% efficiency), despite setting significantly fewer balls than her competitors.
Reception
Helena Cazaute (France) topped the ranking with 40 successful receptions out of 96 attempts (41.67%). She was followed by Philippa Brink (Sweden) and Mayu Ishikawa (Japan).
Defense
Daniela Digrinova (Czech Republic) recorded 48 successful defensive interventions and 17 receptions (60.76% efficiency). The leader in percentage was Thai Panoo Phinut (70.18%), but with a smaller number of participations.
Where are we?
Only in three of the rankings do we have representatives in the top 10:
| Category | First Bulgarian | Ranking position |
|---|---|---|
| Best Scorers | Stoyanova | 30 |
| Attack | Stoyanova | 32 |
| Block | Vuchkova | 6 |
| Aces from serve | Dimitrova | 6 |
| Setter | Kitipova | 10 |
| Digs in defense | Kitipova | 14 |
| Reception | Pashkuleva | 16 |
The group stage showed both expected leaders and new names that surprised with consistency and class. Isabelle Haak confirmed her status as a world star, while volleyball players like Martina Czernianska and Daniela Digrinova became discoveries of the tournament. It remains to be seen whether individual form will carry over into the knockout rounds. For our competitors, who as individuals are in the "golden mean," this was not enough to do anything memorable at this championship.
collage: siatka.org
