The Spanish national team will compete in the Women's Senior World Championship this weekend in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, a historic event for national volleyball after a 43-year hiatus from participating in this tournament.
With a young and hungry squad, Pascual Saurín's team will compete from the start in Group E, which also includes Turkey, Canada, and Bulgaria, Spain's rivals in that order during Matchday 1, Matchday 2, and Matchday 3.
The 'Volleyball Lionesses' arrive on Thai soil having won their last five matches, two official European Championship matches against Georgia and Portugal, and then three friendlies in Vietnam, against the home team and Kenya. Thus, Saurín will have the same 14-player squad that secured Spain's presence at the upcoming European Championship.
Patricia Aranda, Ariadna Priante, and Raquel Lázaro will serve as setters; Patricia Llabrés and Marga Pizà as liberos; Julia de Paula and Jimena Fernández as opposites; Lucía Varela, Lola Hernández, and Carla Jiménez as middle blockers; and María Segura, Carolina Camino, María Schlegel, and Ana Escamilla as receivers.
This Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CET), Spain will debut against European champions Turkey in a tough match to test their strength against Italian Daniele Santarelli's squad, which features stars such as Eda Erdem, Zehra Gunes, and Melissa Vargas. The last two matches, at the Mediterranean Games, went in favor of the Turks.
On August 25th, at 11:30 a.m., the opponent will be a Canada team with unusual experience in the head-to-head with Spain, as their last match was in the 1991 World Cup, when the old scoring system was still in place. The Canadian team will be coached by fellow Italian Giovanni Guidetti.
The group stage will conclude for Spain on August 27 at 2:30 p.m. against a Bulgarian team returning to the World Cup after a decade-long absence, coached by Antonina Zetova. The Bulgarians and the "Volleyball Lionesses" last met at the 2021 European Championship, with the Spanish side suffering a swift defeat.
