Giorgia Frosini and Loveth Omoruyi each scored 11 points en route to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-23 victory.

It caps a dominant tournament for Italy, who went undefeated throughout and lost only two sets across eight matches.

Setter Gaia Guiducci was named Most Valuable Player and described the victory as "a dream come true".

Guiducci told Volleyball World: "Becoming champions of the world is something that we have been dreaming of for such a long time! 

"Throughout the whole competition, we have been able to keep our faith alive. 

"Since we started preparation for this championship, we knew that we could achieve our goal. 

"It is a dream come true! 

"This group of players deserves this title."

Italy had already beaten Serbia in straight sets in the second group stage.

The third-place playoff was a back-and-fourth affair which ended in heartbreak for the co-hosts.

The Netherlands took a two-set lead, but Russia fought back and took the match to a decider.

The Dutch has six match points, but could not convert and instead the Russians won the bronze medal.

It finished 16-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 22-20 after a fifth set which just kept on going.

The event was co-hosted by Kortrijk in Belgium, where the Unites States secured fifth place with a three-set win over Poland.

Poland twice lost in four sets to Italy in the various group stages, so were the only team to take a set off them.

The slow-starting US won 14-25, 18-25, 25-16, 29-27, 15-13 today.