Nat'l team wins all 3 of its qualifiers in straight sets and will now set its sights on finishing among the top 2 in the second round qualifying group.
By ALLON SINAIvolleyball artmenko 248.88(photo credit: Courtesy )
Israel's women's national volleyball team advanced to the second round of the World Championship qualifiers on Sunday, defeating Great Britain 3-0 in Sheffield, England.
The national team won all three of its qualifiers in straight sets over the weekend and will now set its sights on finishing among the top two in the second round qualifying group, which will include Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Belarus.
Second round action will take place in Azerbaijan in May, with the team hoping to make it to the third and final round and eventually be among the 24 nations to play in the 2010 World Championships in Japan.
"You're always happy when you win, but my head is already in the second round in Azerbaijan," veteran coach Aryeh Selinger said.
"We're expecting very tough matches against Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Belarus, but we've got plenty of time to prepare. "I'm happy the girls and everyone around is starting to see results, but the road ahead is still long and this is just the first step."
The Israeli men failed to progress to the second round of the World Championships qualifying after Belarus defeated Great Britain 3-1 on Sunday.
Israel could have advanced had it defeated Belarus on Saturday, but following its loss needed the Brits to stun the Belarussians on Sunday to still have any chance of qualifying.
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