The 2006 FIVB Women's World Championship was the fifteenth edition of the competition, contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The final tournament was held from 31 October to 16 November 2006 in Japan.
The finals involved 24 teams, of which 22 came through qualifying competitions, while the host nation and reign champion qualified automatically. Of the 32 teams, 16 had also appeared in the previous tournament in 2002, while Cameroon, Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Serbia and Montenegro made their first appearances at a FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.
Russia won their sixth world title, defeating Brazil in five sets at the final. Serbia and Montenegro won the 3rd place match and its first medal, defeating Italy in straight sets. Yoshie Takeshita from Japan was selected as the MVP.
Qualification
Source:FIVB
Squads
Venues
Source:
Format
The tournament was played in three different stages (first, second and final rounds). In the , the 24 participants were divided in four groups of six teams each. A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams group position, the four best teams of each group (total of 16 teams) progressed to the next round.
In the , the 16 teams were divided in two groups of eight teams. A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams group position, matches already played between teams in the were counted in this round. The six best teams of each group (total of 12 teams) progressed to the next round.
In the , the 12 teams were allocated to semifinals for placement matches according to their group positions. First and second of each group played the semifinals, third and fourth played the 5th-8th semifinals and fifth and sixth played the 9th-12th semifinals. Winners and losers of each semifinals played a final placement match for 1st to 12th places.
Source:FIVB
Pools composition
The drawing of lots for the qualified teams took place in Tokyo, Japan on 29 November 2005.
Results
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).
First round
Pool A
Venue: Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo
Pool B
Venue: Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, Sapporo
Pool C
Venue: Kobe Green Arena, Kobe
Pool D
Venue: Nagoya Rainbow Hall, Nagoya
Second round
The results and the points of the matches between the same teams that were already played during the first round are taken into account for the second round.
Pool E
Venue: Nagoya Rainbow Hall, Nagoya
Pool F
Venue: Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium, Osaka
Final round
9th–12th place
Venue: Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka
9th–12th semifinals
11th place match
9th place match
5th–8th place
Venues: Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium (OMCG) and Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (OPG), both in Osaka
5th–8th semifinals
7th place match
5th place match
Finals
Venue: Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium, Osaka
Semifinals
3rd place match
Final
Final standing
Awards
Most valuable player
Yoshie Takeshita
Best scorer
Neslihan Darnel
Best spiker
Rosir Calderón
Best blocker
Christiane Fürst
Best server
Yelena Godina
Best digger
Szu Hui-Fang
Best receiver
Jaqueline Carvalho
Best setter
Yoshie Takeshita
Best libero
Suzana Ćebić
Statistics leaders
The statistics of each group follows the vis reports P2 and P3. The statistics include 6 volleyball skills; serve, reception, set, spike, block, and dig. The table below shows the top 5 ranked players in each skill plus top scorers as of 16 November 2006.
Best Scorers
Best scorers determined by scored points from attack, block, and serve.
Best Spikers
Best attackers determined by successful attacks in percentage.
Best Blockers
Best blockers determined by the average of stuff blocks per set.
Best Servers
Best servers determined by the average of aces per set.
Best Setters
Best setters determined by the average of running sets per set.
Best Diggers
Best diggers determined by the average of successful digs per set.
Best Receivers
Best receivers determined by efficient receptions in percentage.