USA, Turkey win two in a row at WGP Finals

Ningbo, China, June 28, 2012 – World No. 1 and World Grand Prix title holders the United States and Turkey both recorded their second straight victories at the 2012 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Finals here on Thursday.

Megan Hodge had 25 points to lift the United States over Thailand 3-1(25-18, 27-25, 18-25, 25-18). Tayyiba Haneef-Park and Cynthia Barboza added 10 points apiece to the winning cause.

Winning two matches in a row in Ningbo, the American women also improved their head-to-head record against the Thais to 14-1 while the Asian side suffered its second consecutive loss in the six-team round-robin final round.

Following Wednesday’s 3-1 triumph over Thailand, World Grand Prix Finals debutants Turkey went on to sweep Cuba 3-0 (25-23, 25-9, 25-20) Thursday afternoon. It’s their third win over the Cuban team in six tries.

Neslihan Darnel and Neriman Ozsoy each had 12 points for Turkey. Cuba’s best scorers were Gyselle Silva and Ana Cleger with 11 and 10 respectively.

In the last match of the day, Menezes Thaisa and Castro Sheilla scored 18 points each to lead Beijing Olympic champions Brazil to a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18) victory against the host China.

At the end of Day Two, Turkey led the standings with six points, followed by the United States (5), Brazil (4), China (3), Thailand (0) and Cuba (0).