All eyes on Almaty for World Grand Prix Group 3 Finals

Almaty, Kazakhstan, June 17, 2016 – It all comes down to the final weekend at the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Group 3 where hosts Kazakhstan, Colombia, Croatia and Peru will dispute the title.

Coaches and captains of the final four teams shared their sentiments on the tough weekend that awaits them at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace.

Kazakhstan coach Vyacheslav Shapran: “We wish the best of luck for every team. We are proud of this very beautiful venue, but the weather is not good at all. We hope for the best.

"We have already met with Colombia and Peru, and it will first time to meet Croatia this year. We are a new and young team but we are happy to have already won four games. We will do our best for this tournament and we will play for our home fans.”

Kazakhstan captain Radmila Beresneva: “It was a very long journey for all the teams as we started three weeks ago. Good luck to all teams from ours.”

Croatia coach Miroslav Aksentijevic: “It is a pleasure to be here as all the teams deserve to be part of this group.”

Croatia captain Mia Jerkov: “The whole team had a long road and I think we were very competitive along the way. We just want to have fun, do our best, and enjoy these two days here.

“We were here (in Almaty) two years ago. We are happy to be back, and we are prepared well, mentally and physically.”

Colombia coach Eduardo Guillaume: “We are so happy to be here. We were the last team to qualify. We will play the host team tomorrow and we expect to do our best to make it to the finals.”

Colombia captain Maria Alejandra Marin: “It’s a well-balanced tournament as the four teams will have equal chances.”

Peru coach Mauro Marasciulo: “Every team is well-balanced in this competition. We expect very tough games. For us, we are quite in good condition and we are going to expect to have great games in the upcoming days.

Peru captain Mirtha Uribe: “The team has been working hard these past few weeks and we wish all the teams good luck.”