TOKYO (AFP) - Beijing Olympic gold medallists Brazil powered their way to a straight-sets victory in their opener of the World Grand Champions Cup women's volleyball tournament on Tuesday.

Natalia Pereira scored 13 points and Marianne Steinbrecher 12 points to lead the Brazilian women to a 25-23, 25-16, 25-17 victory over the Dominican Republic in the six-team round robin competition.

Earlier in the day, European champions Italy, also the World Cup winners, outgunned Asian champions Thailand 27-25, 25-22, 25-22.

"It's not easy to win against one of the best teams in the world," said Thai coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai.

"We learned a lot of things from Italy today. It was a great honour to play against one of the best teams in the world."

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