By Fatih Erel
ISTANBUL (AA) – The second round of FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Japan is set to kick off on Sunday.
Japan hosts the world’s best 24 teams in six different cities during the tournament between Sept. 29-Oct. 20.
In the first round, 24 teams were divided into four pools of six teams playing in a round-robin system with the top four teams in each pool advancing to the second round.
The 16 teams in the second round are split into two pools of eight. In each of the two second-round pools, every team will play only against the four rivals they have not faced in the first round.
The top three teams from each second-round pool will progress to the third round, where two round-robin pools of three teams will determine the four semifinalists.
USA won the inaugural Volleyball Nations League in 2018 after beating Turkey 3-2 in the final.
In the second round, Turkey will compete in Group F with USA, Russia, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Italy, China and Bulgaria.
According to competition rules, Turkey will play only against the four rivals they have not faced in the first round which are USA, Russia, Thailand, Azerbaijan.
The two groups are as follows:
| GROUP E | PLD | W | L | POINTS | |
| 1 | SERBIA | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | NETHERLANDS | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | JAPAN | 5 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | BRAZIL | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 5 | GERMANY | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 6 | DOMINICAN REP. | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 7 | PUERTO RICO | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 8 | MEXICO | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| GROUP F | PLD | W | L | POINTS | |
| 1 | ITALY | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | USA | 5 | 5 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | CHINA | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 | RUSSIA | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 5 | THAILAND | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 | TURKEY | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 7 | AZERBAIJAN | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 8 | BULGARIA | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
