News

Mendoza, Argentina, May 28, 2019 - 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Pool 2 hosts Argentina will take on competition newcomers Portugal in the second match in Mendoza on Friday. The day will begin with the encounter between Canada and Bulgaria.

Canada - Bulgaria (May 31, 2019)
Head-to-Head
·    Canada and Bulgaria will meet for the second time in the Volleyball Nations League. Last year, Bulgaria won in straight sets in the preliminary round.
·    Canada and Bulgaria have had 10 encounters at world level major tournaments, with both sides winning five times.
·    World level major tournaments are Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
·    Their last encounter at a world level tournament was at the 2018 World Championship second round, with Canada prevailing in five sets.
·    This match was the most recent match in a world level tournament for both Canada and Bulgaria. They were eliminated after the match, finishing second (Canada) and third (Bulgaria) behind USA in Pool G.

Canada
·    Canada finished seventh in the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League last year, just missing out on the final round.
·    Canada's best result in a world level major tournament was a third place in the 2017 World League.
·    Last year, Canada started their VNL campaign with a straight set loss against eventual champions Russia.
·    Stephen Timothy Maar scored 165 points last year to become Canada's 2018 Volleyball Nations League top scorer.

Bulgaria
·    Bulgaria finished 11th in the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League last year.
·    Bulgaria's best result in World League/Volleyball Nations League is a fourth place (1994, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013).
·    The last time Bulgaria claimed a medal in a world level major tournament was at the 2007 World Cup, finishing third.
·    Last year, Bulgaria won their first VNL match in five sets against China.
·    Nikolay Uchikov scored 169 points in the Volleyball Nations League last year, to become Bulgaria's top scorer in the competition.

Nicholas Hoag from Canada spikes the ball over Svetoslav Gotsev (L) and Boyan Yordanov (R) in the 2018 VNL.

Argentina - Portugal (May 31, 2019)
Head-to-Head
·    Argentina have won each of their last 15 matches against Portugal at world level major tournaments, since a 3-2 defeat in the World League on 14 July 2002.
·    World level major tournaments are: Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
·    Prior to their 15-match losing run against Argentina, Portugal had won five of their first six major world level matches against Argentina.
·    This will be the first meeting between these teams at a world level major tournament since 1 July 2012, when Argentina beat Portugal 3-2 in the World League.

Argentina
·    Argentina will participate in the Volleyball Nations League/World League for the 21st time. Their best result to date was a fourth place in 2011.
·    Last year, Argentina finished in 14th place, above only China (15th) and Republic of Korea (16th).
·    Argentina finished their 2018 VNL campaign with successive victories: 3-1 against Australia and 3-0 against Brazil.
·    Argentina could now win successive Volleyball Nations League/World League matches for the first time since June 2015, when they beat Bulgaria and Canada (twice).
·    At the Volleyball Nations League last year, Argentina won only one of their seven matches against European opponents, a straight sets victory over Italy on 3 June.

Portugal
·    Portugal return to the Volleyball Nations League/World League after one year of absence.
·    It will be Portugal's 15th appearance in total. Their best result to date was a fifth place finish in 2005.
·    Portugal have a 25% win percentage from their previous 162 Volleyball Nations League/World League matches (40 wins - 122 defeats).
·    This will be Portugal's first Volleyball Nations League/World League match since 18 June 2017, when they were beaten 3-1 by Slovenia in group 2.