TOKYO (AP) The Netherlands beat Peru 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 Saturday to qualify for the women's volleyball tournament at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Lonneke Sloetjes scored a team-high 16 points for the Netherlands which improved to 5-1 in the eight-nation tournament and qualified for its first Olympics since 1996 in Atlanta.
Dutch coach Giovanni Guidetti said ''these players can compete with the top in the world. They have the physical and mental strength to do it.''
Italy, South Korea and Japan also qualified.
Italy improved to 5-1 when it beat Japan 23-25, 27-25, 27-25, 21-25, 15-9 but the two sets won by the hosts ensured Japan qualified for its 12th Olympics.
South Korea lost in five sets to Thailand but secured enough points to finish among the top four teams to qualify.
