Sendai, Japan, September 26, 2018 - Coach Davide Mazzanti's Italy team defeated Azerbaijan 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-22) in the second of two friendlies ahead of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Japan from September 29 to October 20. The two teams met again after a first victory for Italy on Tuesday 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20).
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Italy begin their World Championship campaign against Bulgaria on Saturday in Sapporo. Their opponents in Pool B also include Canada, Cuba, Turkey and China. Azerbaijan on the other hand open their World Championship tournament on Saturday against reigning world champions USA in Pool C in Kobe. They will also take on Korea, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Thailand.
Speaking after the match, Mazzanti said: "We now finally turn to experiencing the atmosphere of the World Championship. The group is getting along very well and we can not wait to start. The preparation period has been hard, but at the same time very formative. We want to do all we can to play our best.
"In these two friendlies we pushed only in some parts of the sets. I think, however, that the overall balance was positive. Also because we were already thinking of our debut in the World Championship against Bulgaria."