Lausanne, Switzerland, June 5, 2018 - After securing their first win of the season at the close of Week 3 in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League, Argentina take on Serbia Friday in Aix-en-Provence. The Balkan team have won four matches so far in the VNL, including all last three in five sets. Serbia lead the head-to-head series against Argentina 19-8.
Head-to-Head
• Argentina and Serbia (including Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro) have met 27 times in world level major competition. Argentina won eight and Serbia 19.
• World level major competitions are: the VNL, Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
• Serbia won both encounters with Argentina at the 2017 World League. The first match had gone in straight sets, the second fixture was a five setter.
• The last time Argentina won against Serbia in a world level major competition was at the 2016 World League, when they won in straight sets.
Argentina
• In the final match of the second weekend at the VNL, Argentina won their first match in the competition by defeating Italy in straight sets in front of a home crowd.
• Argentina left Korea as the only country without a win in the Nations League in the first two weekends.
• Argentina can win consecutive world level major tournament matches for the first time since two 3-1 wins against Brazil and Bulgaria at the 2017 World League.
• The last time Argentina claimed successive straight set victories at a world level major tournament was at the 2016 Olympic Games, against Cuba and Egypt.
• In four of their six VNL matches, Argentina won the first set.
Serbia
• After a difficult first weekend with two losses and one win, Serbia bounced back with three five-set wins in the second weekend of the VNL.
• No other team has played more than three five setters this tournament. United States also played three, but lost one.
• It is the first time that Serbia has played three consecutive major world level fixtures over five sets and won them all (including as Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro).
• Serbia are one of the three teams to have played a tournament high 25 sets (W12-L13), alongside Japan and United States.
• The last time Serbia won at least four consecutive matches in a world level major competition was at the 2017 World League (5 in a row).
• Drazen Luburic has scored 80 points for Serbia so far, making him the team top scorer in the VNL. Marko Ivovic follows with 59.
• Neven Majstorovic has averaged 0.92 dig per match in the VNL, more than any other player.