Ningbo, China, June 8, 2019 – Poland are aiming to get back on the winning track as they face winless Bulgaria, while France are pursuing a 5-0 winning start in the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
Poland – Bulgaria (June 8, 2019)
Head-to-head
• Poland and Bulgaria last met at a world level major tournament last September at the World Championship. Poland won 3-1.
• World level major tournaments are: Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
• Last year, these teams met at the Volleyball Nations League, with Poland winning in four sets.
• The last time Bulgaria defeated Poland in a world level major tournament was in the 2017 World League (3-2).
Poland
• Poland have lost their last two Volleyball Nations League matches, after starting their 2019 campaign with back-to-back wins.
• Poland could equal their record losing streak of three at the VNL, set last season against Iran, United States and Serbia.
• Last season, Poland started their VNL campaign by winning their first five games before losing their sixth match.
• Against France on Friday, Piotr Lukasik led his side in scoring on 17 points. Lukasik was one of four players to reach double figures in scoring for Poland.
Bulgaria
• Bulgaria could lose four successive Volleyball Nations League matches for the first time.
• They previously lost three VNL matches in a row on two occasions, in June 2018.
• Bulgaria suffered five of their 12 VNL defeats by a 3-0 scoreline. They also suffered five 3-1 defeats and two losses came by a score of 3-2.
• Svetoslav Gotsev was Bulgaria's top scorer in their 3-0 loss to China on Friday, totalling nine points. Over half of those points, Gotsev scored from blocks (5).
China – France (June 8, 2019)
Head-to-head
• France have won 12 of their 17 major encounters with China at world level, including 11 of their last 13.
• World level major competitions are: FIVB Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
• China's only victory in their last five major encounters with France came in the Volleyball Nations League last season, in which China triumphed in five sets in Lódz, Poland.
• Chuan Jiang led China on 37 points in that match. No other player on either side in that contest contributed more than 17 points to his team's cause.
China
• On Friday, China beat Bulgaria 3-0, ending a five-match losing streak at the Volleyball Nations League.
• China have now won two of their last 12 VNL matches. Apart from the aforementioned victory over Bulgaria, they also beat Japan in this run on 22 June 2018 (3-1).
• China could win successive VNL matches for the first time.
• Chuan Jiang scored a match-high 16 points in their victory over Bulgaria on Friday, while Zhejia Zhang (12) and Libin Liu (11) also reached double figures in scoring.
France
• On Friday, France maintained their perfect winning record at the 2019 Volleyball Nations League by seeing off Poland 3-1.
• France have now won each of their last five VNL matches, including last season. Last term, they established a seven-match winning run at one point.
• France have won all of their four VNL matches this season by 3-1 in sets.
• Against Poland on Friday, Jean Patry paced France on 22 points, twice as many as the team's next most prolific points scorer, Nicolas Le Goff on 11 points.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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