Daegu, Korea, July 12, 2018 – After hosting its first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event in 2017, Daegu will once again provide the arena for the sand battles of a women-only one-star stop from July 13 through 15.
Quick links - Beach volleyball:
15 teams from 11 different countries have registered to play at Daegu. No qualification matches will be held and the tournament will start directly from the main draw, featuring a modified pool play system with the top three teams in each pool progressing into the single elimination stage. The pool winners will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while, for the pool runners-up and third-placed duos, one additional elimination round will take place before the quarters.
Australia’s Phoebe Bell and Jessyka Ngauamo, both in their early 20s, top the preliminary seeding, based on entry points. After the pair’s 2018 bronze medals at the Langkawi one-star and the Nantong two-star, they will be looking for their third podium finish this year. Additionally, the two players earned medals with different partners at home in Australia in March 2017. Ngauamo got silver at Sydney, while Bell claimed the bronze at Shepparton.
Nai-Han Kou and Pi Hsin Liu, who earned silver at the Jinjiang two-star in early June, come second on the list. 36-year-old Kou and 29-year-od Liu from Chinese Taipei will be looking for their second medal on the Tour.
A pair from Israel completes the top three in the preliminary seeding. 20-year-old Noy Chorin and Anita Deev will appear for the first time on the World Tour as a pair. For Chorin, the best result so far is the fourth place at the Tuan Chau one-star in May. At the same event, Deev also registered her best finish so far – a ninth place.
Also competing at Daegu will be two teams each from Austria, Hong Kong, Korea and Thailand and one each from Canada, Malaysia, Russia and Turkey.