Brisbane, Australia, June 28, 2019 - The fifth week of Preliminary Round action in the 2019 men's FIVB Volleyball Nations League began with a victory for Argentina 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19) against China in Pool 17 in Brisbane with Bruno Lima top scoring for the South American side with 15 points, ahead of Nicolas Mendez on 14 points and Facundo Conte on 12.
China-Argentina
Australia-Russia
Pre-match stats:
China - Argentina (June 28, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Argentina have a W6-L5 record against China in major world level competitions, but have won only one of their last six.
· Argentina's only win in their last six world level matches against China came at the 2011 World Cup (3-0).
· Their most recent world level meeting came at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League. China won in straight sets, with Jiang Chuan (23) scoring the most points.
China
· China have won only one of their 12 matches in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, a 3-0 win over Bulgaria.
· China had a W3-L12 record in the 2018 preliminary round. Only Republic of Korea (W1-L14) had a worse record in 2018.
· Jiang Chuan (134) is the only China player to have reached the 100-point mark in this year's VNL. Chuan Jiang won a competition-high 274 points in the 2018 preliminary round.
· Zhang Zhejia is among the best blockers in the 2019 VNL with an average of 0.48 per set.
· Zhan Guojun (4.68) is the third-best setter after four weeks of play in the 2019 VNL.
Argentina
· Argentina have won six matches in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, including four of their last five.
· Argentina could win three successive major world level matches for the first time since a five-match winning streak at the 2015 World Cup.
· All of Argentina's 10 VNL victories came after winning the first set. They suffered defeat in the last 11 VNL matches in which they lost the opening set.
· Facundo Conte (148) and Bruno Lima (147) are Argentina's leading scorers in the 2019 VNL. In last year's preliminary round, Cristian Poglajen (163) and Agustín Loser (150) scored the most points for Argentina.
· After four weeks of play, Santiago Danani is the best digger (2.70) and best receiver (32.95%) in the competition.
Australia - Russia (June 28, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Russia (incl. predecessors) are unbeaten against Australia in major world level competitions, winning all 12 matches.
· Australia have not played more than 12 world level matches against any other nation without ever winning (also W0-L12 vs Brazil).
· Russia (incl. predecessors) have only played more world level matches against Tunisia (14) and Egypt (17) without ever losing.
· Australia and Russia met twice in 2018, their most recent world level encounters. Russia won 3-1 in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round and 3-0 at the 2018 World Championship (1st round).
· Lincoln Alexander Williams (23) and Egor Kliuka (20) scored the most points in last year's VNL encounter.
Australia
· Australia won two of their 12 matches in this year's Volleyball Nations League, 3-0 against Germany on 9 June and 3-0 versus Portugal in their most recent match on 23 June.
· Australia could win successive major world level matches for the first time since a four-match winning run in the 2018 VNL.
· Australia could claim three straight-set victories at a single world level tournament for the second time, after three at the 2017 World League.
· Lincoln Alexander Williams (141) is Australia's leading scorer in the 2019 VNL. Williams has already won more points than Australia's top scorer in the 2018 preliminary round, Jordan Richards (118 points).
· Arshdeep Dosanjh (15), Samuel Walker (12) and Beau Graham (11) all have 10+ aces in this year's VNL. In the 2018 preliminary round, only Lincoln Alexander Williams (10) scored at least 10 aces for Australia.
Russia
· Russia won nine of their 12 matches in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League. They are among the teams in contention for the Final Round.
· Russia lost their most recent VNL match, a 3-0 defeat against Brazil. Russia could lose successive VNL matches for the first time.
· Russia most recently lost successive matches at a world level tournament in the third round of the 2018 World Championship (3-2 vs Brazil, 3-0 vs United States).
· Egor Kliuka averages 0.47 ace per set, most of all players in the 2019 VNL. His tournament total of 20 aces is at least four higher than any other player.
· Victor Poletaev (150) is Russia's leading scorer this VNL campaign. He did not feature in Russia's 3-0 defeat against Brazil.