For the first time in history the Dominican Republic women’s national volleyball team has made it to the Round of Six in the FIVB World Championship, the leading volleyball tournament outside of the Olympic Games.
Ranked 10th in the world into the tournament, the DR is the underdog and will face Brazil (ranked 1st) and China (ranked 5th). The DR’s first game in the final round robin is on Thursday, 9 October 2014 against China at 11:30am (Dominican time). On Friday, 10 October 2014 it will play against Brazil at 11:30am (Dominican time). The top two teams of the round will advance.
Coach Marcos Kwiek commented on the team’s satisfaction at having made it so far. “We have a difficult group, but at this level all teams are difficult and it is not easy for any team,” he said. The other teams playing in the Group of Six are Russia, the United States and Italy.
FIVB reports that the achievement has “Dominicans stepping on the toes of giants.”
In a press release, the leading world volleyball organization reports:
“The Dominican Republic, a tiny country in the middle of the Caribbean Sea with a population of roughly 10 million people living in 48,442 square kilometers, represents Lilliput while China, Russia, United States, Brazil and Italy are the giants of the story.”
http://italy2014.fivb.org/en/news/dominicans-stepping-on-the-land-of-giants?id=49999
http://italy2014.fivb.org/en/news/top-teams-reach-milan-with-one-surprise?id=50007