2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship

The regional qualification stage determined the 24 teams competing in the championship competition. Hosts Italy were granted automatic qualification. Regional governing bodies were allocated the remaining 23 spots. Africa was granted two, Asia and Oceania four, North, Central America and Caribbean six, South America two, and Europe ten places (including hosts).^[4]

Country	Confederation	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances
				Total*	First	Last
Italy	CEV	Host	0125 November 2009	10th	1978	2010
Thailand	AVC	AVC Pool A Runner-up	027 September 2013	4th	1998	2010
Japan	AVC	AVC Pool A Winner	037 September 2013	15th	1960	2010
Russia	CEV	2013 CEV Championship Winner	0413 September 2013	16th1	1952	2010
Germany	CEV	2013 CEV Championship Runner-up	0513 September 2013	14th2	1956	2010
Brazil	CSV	2013 CSV Championship Winner	0621 September 2013	15th	1956	2010
China	AVC	AVC Pool B Winner	0730 September 2013	13th	1956	2010
Kazakhstan	AVC	AVC Pool B Runner-up	081 October 2013	3rd	2006	2010
Argentina	CSV	CSV Qualification Tournament Winner	0920 October 2013	5th	1960	2002
Turkey	CEV	CEV Pool I Winner	105 January 2014	3rd	2006	2010
Bulgaria	CEV	CEV Pool M Winner	115 January 2014	11th	1952	2002
Azerbaijan	CEV	CEV Pool J Winner	125 January 2014	3rd	1994	2006
Belgium	CEV	CEV Pool K Winner	135 January 2014	3rd	1956	1978
Croatia	CEV	CEV Pool L Winner	145 January 2014	3rd	1998	2010
Serbia	CEV	CEV Third Round Best Runner-up	155 January 2014	4th3	1978	2010
Netherlands	CEV	CEV Third Round Second Best Runner-up	165 January 2014	13th	1956	2010
Tunisia	CAVB	CAVB Pool U Winner	1722 February 2014	3rd	1978	1986
Cameroon	CAVB	CAVB Pool T Winner	181 March 2014	2nd	2006	2006
Cuba	NORCECA	NORCECA Pool Q Winner	1917 May 2014	12th	1970	2010
United States	NORCECA	NORCECA Pool O Winner	2018 May 2014	15th	1956	2010
Dominican Republic	NORCECA	NORCECA Pool P Winner	2118 May 2014	7th	1974	2010
Canada	NORCECA	NORCECA Pool S Winner	2219 May 2014	8th	1974	2010
Puerto Rico	NORCECA	NORCECA Pool R Winner	2325 May 2014	6th	1974	2010
Mexico	NORCECA	NORCECA Playoff Winner	2420 July 2014	7th	1970	2006

* Total (including 2014 edition).

1.^ Competed as Soviet Union from 1952 to 1990; 6th appearance as Russia.

2.^ Competed as West Germany from 1956 to 1990; 6th appearance as Germany.

3.^ Competed as Yugoslavia for 1978 and Serbia and Montenegro for 2006; 2nd appearance as Serbia.

The tournament was played at six venues in six cities.^[5]

Pool G, H, Final round	Pool A	Pool B, E	Bari Modena Milan Rome Trieste Verona class=notpageimage| Host cities in Italy
Milan	Rome	Trieste
Mediolanum Forum	PalaLottomatica	PalaTrieste
Capacity: 12,657	Capacity: 10,710	Capacity: 6,943
Pool C, F	Pool F	Pool D, E
Verona	Modena	Bari
PalaOlimpia	PalaPanini	PalaFlorio
Capacity: 6,200	Capacity: 4,990	Capacity: 5,080

The tournament was played in three different stages (first, second and third rounds). In the First round, the 24 participants were divided in four groups of six teams each. A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams group position, the four best teams of each group (total of 16 teams) progressed to the next round.

In the Second round, the 16 teams were divided in two groups of eight teams (four teams from groups A and D in one group, and four teams from groups B and C in the other group). A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams group position, matches already played between teams in the First round were counted in this round. The three best teams of each group (total of 6 teams) progressed to the next round.

In the Third round, the 6 teams were divided in two groups of three teams. A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams group position, the two best teams of each group (total of 4 teams) progressed to the semifinals.

Group standing criteria

1. Ranking points (3 points for a 3–0 or 3–1 win; 2 points for a 3–2 win; 1 point for a 2–3 loss; 0 points for a 1–3 or 0–3 loss)

2. Number of wins

3. Sets ratio

4. Points ratio

5. Head to head

Source: FIVB^[6]

Teams were seeded in the first three positions of each pool following the Serpentine system according to their FIVB World Ranking.^[7] FIVB reserved the right to seed the hosts as head of Pool A regardless of the World Ranking. All teams not seeded were drawn to take other available positions in the remaining lines, following the World Ranking. The drawing was held in Parma, Italy on 10 March 2014. Because NORCECA qualification were in progress on 10 March 2014, FIVB used the best world rankings of NORCECA when the draw was made. Ranking shown in brackets except Hosts which rank 4th.^[8]

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Italy (Host)	Brazil (1)	United States (2)	Japan (3)
Dominican Republic (8)	Serbia (7)	Russia (6)	China (5)
Germany (9)	Turkey (11)	Thailand (12)	Puerto Rico (17)
Argentina (18)	Canada (20)	Netherlands (18)	Cuba (21)
Croatia (24)	Cameroon (26)	Kazakhstan (23)	Belgium (22)
Tunisia (27)	Bulgaria (35)	Mexico (28)	Azerbaijan (37)

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

First round

Pool A

Venue: PalaLottomatica, Rome

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Italy	5	4	1	13	14	4	3.500	416	299	1.391	Second round
2	Dominican Republic	5	5	0	12	15	7	2.143	492	422	1.166
3	Croatia	5	3	2	9	11	10	1.100	442	444	0.995
4	Germany	5	2	3	8	11	9	1.222	431	363	1.187
5	Argentina	5	1	4	3	5	12	0.417	328	404	0.812
6	Tunisia	5	0	5	0	1	15	0.067	219	396	0.553

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
23 Sep	10:30	Argentina	1–3	Croatia	17–25	28–26	24–26	19–25		88–102	P2 P3
23 Sep	17:00	Dominican Republic	3–2	Germany	22–25	25–21	25–21	24–26	15–13	111–106	P2 P3
23 Sep	20:00	Italy	3–0	Tunisia	25–11	25–13	25–8			75–32	P2 P3
24 Sep	10:30	Dominican Republic	3–0	Tunisia	25–14	25–19	25–10			75–43	P2 P3
24 Sep	17:00	Germany	3–0	Argentina	25–12	25–13	25–14			75–39	P2 P3
24 Sep	20:00	Croatia	0–3	Italy	24–26	15–25	11–25			50–76	P2 P3
25 Sep	10:30	Germany	3–0	Tunisia	25–7	25–12	25–7			75–26	P2 P3
25 Sep	17:00	Croatia	2–3	Dominican Republic	22–25	13–25	25–22	26–24	17–19	103–115	P2 P3
25 Sep	20:00	Argentina	0–3	Italy	17–25	17–25	16–25			50–75	P2 P3
27 Sep	10:30	Tunisia	1–3	Croatia	6–25	25–21	16–25	13–25		60–96	P2 P3
27 Sep	17:00	Dominican Republic	3–1	Argentina	25–13	25–20	19–25	25–18		94–76	P2 P3
27 Sep	20:00	Italy	3–1	Germany	21–25	25–17	25–10	25–18		96–70	P2 P3
28 Sep	10:30	Tunisia	0–3	Argentina	19–25	18–25	21–25			58–75	P2 P3
28 Sep	17:00	Croatia	3–2	Germany	17–25	25–23	9–25	25–21	15–11	91–105	P2 P3
28 Sep	20:00	Italy	2–3	Dominican Republic	15–25	25–16	21–25	25–16	8–15	94–97	P2 P3

Pool B

Venue: PalaTrieste, Trieste

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Brazil	5	5	0	14	15	3	5.000	428	333	1.285	Second round
2	Serbia	5	4	1	11	13	7	1.857	467	405	1.153
3	Bulgaria	5	3	2	9	11	8	1.375	417	396	1.053
4	Turkey	5	2	3	8	11	9	1.222	436	396	1.101
5	Canada	5	1	4	3	4	13	0.308	296	392	0.755
6	Cameroon	5	0	5	0	1	15	0.067	274	396	0.692

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
23 Sep	10:30	Canada	3–1	Cameroon	25–12	25–15	20–25	25–14		95–66	P2 P3
23 Sep	17:00	Serbia	3–1	Turkey	25–15	20–25	25–19	25–22		95–81	P2 P3
23 Sep	20:00	Brazil	3–0	Bulgaria	25–19	25–22	25–16			75–57	P2 P3
24 Sep	10:30	Turkey	3–0	Canada	25–10	25–12	25–17			75–39	P2 P3
24 Sep	17:00	Cameroon	0–3	Brazil	14–25	15–25	18–25			47–75	P2 P3
24 Sep	20:00	Serbia	3–2	Bulgaria	25–19	23–25	25–19	18–25	15–12	106–100	P2 P3
25 Sep	10:30	Canada	0–3	Brazil	14–25	8–25	18–25			40–75	P2 P3
25 Sep	17:00	Cameroon	0–3	Serbia	17–25	13–25	24–26			54–76	P2 P3
25 Sep	20:00	Turkey	2–3	Bulgaria	25–20	23–25	18–25	27–25	12–15	105–110	P2 P3
27 Sep	10:30	Bulgaria	3–0	Cameroon	25–16	25–20	25–23			75–59	P2 P3
27 Sep	17:00	Serbia	3–1	Canada	25–7	26–28	25–21	25–15		101–71	P2 P3
27 Sep	20:00	Brazil	3–2	Turkey	17–25	22–25	25–19	25–21	15–10	104–100	P2 P3
28 Sep	10:30	Cameroon	0–3	Turkey	18–25	18–25	12–25			48–75	P2 P3
28 Sep	17:00	Bulgaria	3–0	Canada	25–17	25–16	25–18			75–51	P2 P3
28 Sep	20:00	Brazil	3–1	Serbia	24–26	25–21	25–19	25–23		99–89	P2 P3

Pool C

Venue: PalaOlimpia, Verona

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	United States	5	5	0	15	15	2	7.500	437	357	1.224	Second round
2	Russia	5	4	1	12	13	4	3.250	427	354	1.206
3	Netherlands	5	3	2	9	10	6	1.667	377	358	1.053
4	Kazakhstan	5	2	3	6	6	9	0.667	316	331	0.955
5	Thailand	5	1	4	3	3	12	0.250	323	383	0.843
6	Mexico	5	0	5	0	1	15	0.067	318	415	0.766

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
23 Sep	10:30	Netherlands	3–0	Kazakhstan	25–21	25–17	25–21			75–59	P2 P3
23 Sep	17:00	Russia	3–0	Thailand	25–18	25–19	25–22			75–59	P2 P3
23 Sep	20:00	United States	3–1	Mexico	19–25	25–11	25–20	25–14		94–70	P2 P3
24 Sep	10:30	Kazakhstan	0–3	United States	20–25	15–25	22–25			57–75	P2 P3
24 Sep	17:00	Russia	3–0	Mexico	25–17	25–22	25–13			75–52	P2 P3
24 Sep	20:00	Thailand	0–3	Netherlands	20–25	22–25	18–25			60–75	P2 P3
25 Sep	10:30	Thailand	3–0	Mexico	27–25	36–34	26–24			89–83	P2 P3
25 Sep	17:00	Kazakhstan	0–3	Russia	13–25	21–25	16–25			50–75	P2 P3
25 Sep	20:00	Netherlands	0–3	United States	27–29	21–25	18–25			66–79	P2 P3
27 Sep	10:30	Mexico	0–3	Kazakhstan	12–25	16–25	21–25			49–75	P2 P3
27 Sep	17:00	Russia	3–1	Netherlands	19–25	25–13	27–25	25–16		96–79	P2 P3
27 Sep	20:00	United States	3–0	Thailand	25–15	25–23	25–20			75–58	P2 P3
28 Sep	10:30	Mexico	0–3	Netherlands	30–32	17–25	17–25			64–82	P2 P3
28 Sep	17:00	Kazakhstan	3–0	Thailand	25–15	25–22	25–20			75–57	P2 P3
28 Sep	20:00	United States	3–1	Russia	34–32	25–19	29–31	26–24		114–106	P2 P3

Pool D

Venue: PalaFlorio, Bari

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	China	5	5	0	14	15	2	7.500	408	309	1.320	Second round
2	Japan	5	3	2	11	13	7	1.857	444	426	1.042
3	Belgium	5	3	2	9	10	6	1.667	377	325	1.160
4	Azerbaijan	5	3	2	7	9	11	0.818	410	449	0.913
5	Puerto Rico	5	1	4	4	5	12	0.417	364	399	0.912
6	Cuba	5	0	5	0	1	15	0.067	308	403	0.764

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
23 Sep	10:30	China	3–0	Puerto Rico	25–23	25–18	25–20			75–61	P2 P3
23 Sep	17:00	Japan	2–3	Azerbaijan	25–17	20–25	25–20	21–25	9–15	100–102	P2 P3
23 Sep	20:00	Cuba	0–3	Belgium	15–25	12–25	16–25			43–75	P2 P3
24 Sep	10:30	China	3–0	Azerbaijan	25–13	25–16	25–17			75–46	P2 P3
24 Sep	17:00	Belgium	1–3	Japan	22–25	25–22	20–25	23–25		90–97	P2 P3
24 Sep	20:00	Puerto Rico	3–0	Cuba	25–22	27–25	25–19			77–66	P2 P3
25 Sep	10:30	Puerto Rico	2–3	Azerbaijan	20–25	26–24	24–26	25–16	15–17	110–108	P2 P3
25 Sep	17:00	Cuba	0–3	Japan	19–25	24–26	23–25			66–76	P2 P3
25 Sep	20:00	Belgium	0–3	China	21–25	22–25	19–25			62–75	P2 P3
27 Sep	10:30	Azerbaijan	0–3	Belgium	21–25	12–25	21–25			54–75	P2 P3
27 Sep	17:00	Japan	3–0	Puerto Rico	25–21	25–20	25–19			75–60	P2 P3
27 Sep	20:00	China	3–0	Cuba	25–15	25–11	25–18			75–44	P2 P3
28 Sep	10:30	Azerbaijan	3–1	Cuba	25–20	25–27	25–20	25–22		100–89	P2 P3
28 Sep	17:00	Japan	2–3	China	16–25	25–18	27–25	17–25	11–15	96–108	P2 P3
28 Sep	20:00	Belgium	3–0	Puerto Rico	25–20	25–17	25–19			75–56	P2 P3

Second round

The results and points of the matches between the same teams that were already played during the first round were taken into account for the second round.

Pool E

Venues: PalaFlorio, Bari and PalaTrieste, Trieste

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Italy	7	6	1	19	20	6	3.333	610	509	1.198	Third round
2	China	7	6	1	16	19	7	2.714	599	504	1.188
3	Dominican Republic	7	5	2	13	19	15	1.267	734	686	1.070
4	Japan	7	3	4	10	15	17	0.882	670	693	0.967
5	Germany	7	2	5	9	13	15	0.867	597	591	1.010
6	Belgium	7	2	5	7	9	16	0.563	534	563	0.948
7	Croatia	7	2	5	5	10	19	0.526	556	670	0.830
8	Azerbaijan	7	2	5	5	8	18	0.444	519	603	0.861

Date	Time	Venue		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
1 Oct	17:00	Bari	Dominican Republic	3–2	Belgium	25–17	25–22	22–25	22–25	15–6	109–95	P2 P3
1 Oct	17:10	Trieste	Croatia	3–2	Japan	18–25	25–23	25–27	25–20	15–8	108–103	P2 P3
1 Oct	20:00	Bari	Italy	3–1	Azerbaijan	25–19	25–21	21–25	25–23		96–88	P2 P3
1 Oct	20:00	Trieste	Germany	0–3	China	16–25	23–25	23–25			62–75	P2 P3
2 Oct	17:00	Bari	Dominican Republic	3–1	Azerbaijan	23–25	25–11	25–21	25–17		98–74	P2 P3
2 Oct	17:10	Trieste	Germany	2–3	Japan	25–23	24–26	19–25	25–16	11–15	104–105	P2 P3
2 Oct	20:00	Bari	Italy	3–0	Belgium	25–18	25–22	25–18			75–58	P2 P3
2 Oct	20:00	Trieste	Croatia	0–3	China	12–25	15–25	15–25			42–75	P2 P3
4 Oct	17:00	Bari	Dominican Republic	2–3	China	19–25	19–25	25–22	25–20	10–15	98–107	P2 P3
4 Oct	17:00	Trieste	Germany	3–0	Belgium	25–20	25–15	25–21			75–56	P2 P3
4 Oct	20:00	Bari	Italy	3–0	Japan	25–23	25–20	25–19			75–62	P2 P3
4 Oct	20:00	Trieste	Croatia	1–3	Azerbaijan	25–23	23–25	13–25	23–25		84–98	P2 P3
5 Oct	17:00	Trieste	Germany	3–0	Azerbaijan	25–15	25–23	25–19			75–57	P2 P3
5 Oct	17:10	Bari	Dominican Republic	2–3	Japan	21–25	23–25	25–19	25–23	12–15	106–107	P2 P3
5 Oct	20:00	Bari	Italy	3–1	China	22–25	25–18	26–24	25–17		98–84	P2 P3
5 Oct	20:00	Trieste	Croatia	1–3	Belgium	12–25	23–25	25–23	18–25		78–98	P2 P3

Pool F

Venues: PalaOlimpia, Verona and PalaPanini, Modena

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Brazil	7	7	0	20	21	5	4.200	628	539	1.165	Third round
2	United States	7	6	1	18	18	5	3.600	586	506	1.158
3	Russia	7	4	3	13	16	11	1.455	653	600	1.088
4	Serbia	7	4	3	11	13	12	1.083	565	549	1.029
5	Turkey	7	3	4	10	15	15	1.000	654	640	1.022
6	Bulgaria	7	2	5	6	10	17	0.588	565	611	0.925
7	Netherlands	7	2	5	6	9	16	0.563	542	591	0.917
8	Kazakhstan	7	0	7	0	0	21	0.000	368	525	0.701

Date	Time	Venue		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
1 Oct	17:00	Verona	Serbia	3–0	Netherlands	25–22	25–23	25–23			75–68	P2 P3
1 Oct	17:00	Modena	Turkey	1–3	United States	29–27	19–25	23–25	15–25		86–102	P2 P3
1 Oct	20:00	Verona	Brazil	3–0	Kazakhstan	25–22	25–22	25–18			75–62	P2 P3
1 Oct	20:00	Modena	Bulgaria	1–3	Russia	23–25	15–25	28–26	19–25		85–101	P2 P3
2 Oct	17:00	Verona	Serbia	3–0	Kazakhstan	25–13	25–15	25–20			75–48	P2 P3
2 Oct	17:00	Modena	Turkey	3–2	Russia	19–25	25–27	25–22	25–22	15–13	109–109	P2 P3
2 Oct	20:00	Verona	Brazil	3–1	Netherlands	23–25	25–20	25–16	25–16		98–77	P2 P3
2 Oct	20:00	Modena	Bulgaria	0–3	United States	17–25	19–25	16–25			52–75	P2 P3
4 Oct	17:00	Verona	Serbia	0–3	United States	22–25	20–25	22–25			64–75	P2 P3
4 Oct	17:00	Modena	Turkey	3–1	Netherlands	23–25	25–17	25–16	25–20		98–78	P2 P3
4 Oct	20:00	Verona	Brazil	3–1	Russia	25–17	25–27	25–19	27–25		102–88	P2 P3
4 Oct	20:00	Modena	Bulgaria	3–0	Kazakhstan	25–22	25–15	25–13			75–50	P2 P3
5 Oct	17:00	Verona	Serbia	0–3	Russia	26–28	18–25	17–25			61–78	P2 P3
5 Oct	17:00	Modena	Turkey	3–0	Kazakhstan	25–15	25–13	25–14			75–42	P2 P3
5 Oct	20:00	Verona	Brazil	3–0	United States	25–23	25–22	25–21			75–66	P2 P3
5 Oct	20:00	Modena	Bulgaria	1–3	Netherlands	26–24	21–25	23–25	16–25		86–99	P2 P3

Third round

Second round pool winners were placed in each third round pool, while the second and third placed teams were drawn.

Venue: Mediolanum Forum, Milan

Pool G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Italy	2	2	0	6	6	1	6.000	162	142	1.141	Final round
2	United States	2	1	1	3	3	4	0.750	155	165	0.939
3	Russia	2	0	2	0	2	6	0.333	167	177	0.944

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
8 Oct	20:00	Italy	3–0	United States	25–23	25–22	25–20			75–65	P2 P3
9 Oct	20:00	United States	3–1	Russia	25–19	25–23	15–25	25–23		90–90	P2 P3
10 Oct	20:00	Italy	3–1	Russia	25–12	25–17	12–25	25–23		87–77	P2 P3

Pool H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Brazil	2	2	0	6	6	0	MAX	150	107	1.402	Final round
2	China	2	1	1	2	3	5	0.600	160	183	0.874
3	Dominican Republic	2	0	2	1	2	6	0.333	165	185	0.892

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
8 Oct	17:30	Brazil	3–0	China	25–19	25–16	25–15			75–50	P2 P3
9 Oct	17:30	China	3–2	Dominican Republic	22–25	23–25	25–23	25–23	15–12	110–108	P2 P3
10 Oct	17:30	Brazil	3–0	Dominican Republic	25–19	25–21	25–17			75–57	P2 P3

Final round

Venue: Mediolanum Forum, Milan

	Semifinals				Final
	11 October
	Italy	1
					12 October
	China	3
					China	1
	11 October
					United States	3
	United States	3
	Brazil	0
					3rd place
					12 October
					Italy	2
					Brazil	3

Semifinals

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
11 Oct	17:30	United States	3–0	Brazil	25–18	29–27	25–20			79–65	P2 P3
11 Oct	20:45	Italy	1–3	China	21–25	20–25	25–20	28–30		94–100	P2 P3

3rd place match

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
12 Oct	17:30	Italy	2–3	Brazil	15–25	13–25	25–22	25–22	7–15	85–109	P2 P3

Final

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
12 Oct	20:00	China	1–3	United States	25–27	20–25	25–16	24–26		94–94	P2 P3

• 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2014 FIVB Women's World Championship.

• Official website
• FIVB VolleyWorld no. 9 / 2014 (2014 Women's World Championship edition)