USA and Dominican Republic to represent NORCECA in VNL 

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, May 14, 2018 - Sixteen teams from across the globe –including USA and Dominican Republic from NORCECA - embark on a brand new adventure Tuesday, as the inaugural women's FIVB Volleyball Nations League marks the start of an exhilarating season that will bring fans all over the world an unrivalled experience.

The 16 teams will compete in a Preliminary Round over five weeks in a total of 20 pools of four teams each. There will be one ranking table across all pools with the top five teams at the end of the Preliminary Round joining the hosts for the Finals.

Heading the race to become the historic first winner of the new competition are world number one and reigning Olympic champions China, who host Belgium, the Dominican Republic and Korea at home in Ningbo. China are assured of a spot in the Final Six of the competition as hosts of the event in Nanjing, 27 June to 1 July.

World number two and reigning world champions USA also kick start their campaign at home, when they host Italy, Poland and Turkey in Lincoln.

Further south, the last winner of the FIVB World Grand Prix and reigning South American champions, Brazil, are out for full points from their three opening matches at home in the Sao Paulo suburb of Barueri against Germany, Asian champions Japan and European champions Serbia.

Russia head the last remaining pool of the opening week, when they entertain Argentina, the Netherlands and Thailand in Ekaterinburg.