The hosts Peru’s women’s volleyball team prepares to face Puerto Rico, Cuba and Poland in the preliminary round of the 2014 FIVB World Grand Prix at home this weekend.
The second-week campaign of the tournament will be held at the Grand Chimu Arena, located in the coastal city of Trujillo, in the Peruvian northern region of La Libertad.
The Andean nation’s team marked its return to the FIVB World Grand Prix on a winning note by defeating Canada 3-1, thus recording their second win out of 21 matches in the event.
Led by 17-year-old sensation Angela Leyva, Peru beat Canada 25–21 25–18 25–27 25–16 in their opening Pool J (Division II) match at the Eduardo Dibos Gymnasium in the nation’s capital Lima last Friday.
Leyva fired 16 points as the Peruvians, coached by Natalia Malaga, claimed their first win in this tournament since 1994 and avenged their loss to the Canadians in last month's Pan American Cup in Mexico.
Nevertheless, in its second game in the first-stop of the intercontinental Round, Peru lost to Belgium 21–25 14–25 19–25 on Saturday night. The Peruvians showed some resistance in the first set but lost steam in the next two sets.
In addition, Poland shoots for its third-straight win in the FIVB World Grand Prix by taking on host Peru at the Eduardo Dibos Coliseum on Sunday night, according to bettingpro.com
The Europeans silenced the loud cheers of more than 4,500 spectators that packed the venue Stadium with a victory over Peru in a hard-fought game won 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20).
Peru's capital Lima was selected to host the first weekend of the preliminary round of the 2014 FIVB World Grand Prix, while coastal city of Trujillo is set to host the tournament's new stop.
The World Grand Prix, which was launched in 1993, is the counterpart tournament for women's national teams. The competition follows the same format as the men's World League.
This weekend, a record number of 42 games in seven preliminary groups involving all 28 teams are scheduled – at venues in Europe, across Asia (Korea) through to South America (Peru).
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Published: 7/30/2014