Hosts Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and New Zealand were assured spots in the next round after Maldives pulled out of Asian Pool B prior to the competition. What the trio of teams is playing for now is a chance to advance to an easier pool in Round 3. Kazakhstan, currently ranked 14th in the FIVB World Rankings, is tipped as the favorite to win the pool ahead of 48th-ranked Uzbekistan and 84th-ranked New Zealand. Nelly Chsherbakova took over as head coach of the Kazakhstan Women's National Team in 2008, but the team remains largely unchanged. However, two players, Yelena Pavlova and Tatyana Pyurova, will miss the tournament because they are on maternity leave. Some Kazakhstan players who play their club Volleyball for Zhetyssu Club will use the 2009 Asian Club Championship to be held in Thailand as a warm-up for the tournament. Yermek Syrlybayev, Secretary General of the Volleyball Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, said that, “Our Women's team has no other goal than to top the pool and make it to the 2010 World Championships in Japan.” The competition schedule for Pool B is as follows: June 16 NZL vs. UZB June 17 KAZ vs. NZL June 18 UZB vs. KAZ |
