Top guns firing at women's volleyball World Cup

Championship silver-medallists Brazil and the other top guns coasted to straight-sets wins on Friday in the first matches of the women's World Cup, where three Olympic berths are up for grabs.

The Brazilian women, in the absence of world champions Russia, pulverised former European title-holders Poland 25-12, 25-20, 25-22 in the 12-team round robin competition.

Italy, who beat Russia in winning last month's European championships, powered past Asian bronze medallists Thailand 25-14, 25-14, 25-16.

Taismary Aguero, who won two Olympic golds with Cuba, was the heroine of Italy's 54-minute game scoring 14 points.

"For me, it's the same as when I played for Cuba. It's a great honour to play for a national team and it's a big chance for me to play for the Italian team when I was asked to play," said Aguero.

"My goal is to continue to win in the World Cup," she added.

Serbia, who captured the world bronze medal as a ... |54% REMAINING