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Serbian star Boskovic will be back in action next month

The return of Serbian star opposite Tijana Boskovic is one of the highlights of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship team lists now available on volleyballworld.com.

The 25-year-old Boskovic, who was the MVP of the 2018 Women's World Championship, didn’t play his year’s Volleyball Nations League and is one of several Serbian players who will be key to defending the title their team won four years ago, alongside the likes of outside hitter Brankica Mihajlovic, opposite Ana Bjelica and middle blocker Jovana Stevanovic.

VNL champions Italy will also bring their top talent to the tournament, as they aim to secure their second title 20 years after their first. VNL MVP Paola Egonu will be one Italian player to watch as she and fellow VNL Dream Teamers libero Monica De Gennaro, outside hitter Caterina Bosetti and setter Alessia Orro take to the courts in the Netherlands and Poland.

2014 champions the United States will try to rebound from a fifth-place finish at the 2022 VNL. Head coach Karch Kiraly still has most of the core that won gold at last year’s Tokyo Olympics available for selection, and will rely on setter Jordyn Poulter, opposite Annie Drews, outside hitter Kelsey Robinson and middle blocker Haleigh Washington to lead the team.

Brazil, who are still chasing their first world title, will be led by outside hitter Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimaraes, setter Macris Carneiro and middle blocker Ana Carolina ‘Carol’ da Silva. The return of veteran middle blocker Carol Gattaz, who got some rest during the VNL, will make the squad led by Jose Roberto Guimaraes even stronger.

The connection between star opposite Ebrar Karakurt and setter Cansu Ozbay will be one of the strengths of Türkiye as they try to win their first World Championship medal. With star middle blockers Eda Erdem and Zehra Gunes and productive outside hitter Hande Baladin also part of the team, the Turkish seem better positioned than ever before to make a run to the podium.

Co-hosts Poland and the Netherlands will also have stars of their own with the Poles expecting a lot from setter and team captain Joanna Wolosz and high-scoring opposite Magdalena Stysiak. The Dutch, meanwhile, will put their hopes in setter Laura Dijkema and team captain and outside hitter Anne Buijs.

Asian volleyball will also feature its main stars as China’s Li Yingying (outside hitter) and Yuan Xinyue (middle blocker), Japan’s Sarina Koga and Arisa Inoue (outside hitters) and Thailand’s Pornpun Guedpard (setter) and Piyanut Pannoy (libero) will all be available for selection.

Other international stars set to represent their countries at the upcoming World Championship include Argentina’s Yamila ‘Yas’ Nizetich, Belgium’s Britt Herbots, Bulgaria’s Elitsa Atanasijevic (formerly Vasileva), Canada’s Kiera van Ryk, Croatia’s Samanta Fabris, the Dominican Republic’s Bethania De La Cruz and Germany’s Hanna Orthmann.

Tickets for the World Championship are already on sale for the matches in Poland and the Netherlands.