Igtisadchi volleyball club made a strong case for the championship title next year, signing Japanese libero Yuko Sano, Dutch outside hitter Alice Blom and American outside hitter Tayyiba Haneef-Park on one-year deals.
According to Azerivolley, 31-year-old Sano is considered to be among the best liberos in the World and is widely regarded as one of the best receivers. Sano was the "Best Receiver" at the 2007 Women's World Cup and was also awarded "Best Receiver" honors in the 2007 Asia Women's Championship, helping Japan to a surprising first-place finish.
Meanwhile, contrary to what was reported earlier, Alice Blom and Tayyiba Haneef-Park did not reach an agreement with Azerrail and Lokomotiv, respectively, and instead signed a contract with Igtisadchi.
31-year-old California native, Haneef-Park was a member of the US national team at the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics. In Beijing, Haneef-Park helped Team USA win a silver medal. She was also named the "Best Server" at the 2007 Pan-American Games and the "Best Scorer" at the 2005 NORCECA Championship.
Dutch outside hitter Alice Blom, 30, moved to Azerbaijan from Turkey where she won the Turkish championship title with Fenerbahce-Acibadem last year. Blom has more than 230 caps for the Dutch national team and was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 2007 World Grand Prix and the silver medal at the 2007 European championship.
Elmir Aliyev
News.Az
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