Opole, Poland, May 17, 2019 - Poland will take on Italy and Thailand play Germany when Pool 1 of the women's 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League gets underway at the Stegu Arena in Opole on May 21. Get the team and head-to-head stats below.
Poland - Italy (May 21, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Poland and Italy will meet for the 16th time in world level major competitions (Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup) and for the second time in the Volleyball Nations League.
· These teams most recently met at world level on May 16, 2018, when Poland came back from behind twice to beat Italy in five sets at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League. That win ended a seven-match losing streak for Poland against Italy in world level major competitions.
· Italy's last win over Poland at world level came at the 2012 World Grand Prix. On June 24, 2012, Italy came back from two sets down to claim a 3-2 victory in the preliminary round (23-25, 20-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-13).
Poland
· Poland have yet to win a world level major competition. Their best result came at the 1952 World Championship where they finished runners-up to the Soviet Union.
· On May 16, 2018, Poland claimed their first ever win in the Volleyball Nations League by beating Italy in five sets 3-2 (21-25, 25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 15-12).
· Poland lost their last match at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League 3-1 against the Dominican Republic, ending a six-match winning streak in the competition.
· Malwina Smarzek scored 361 points in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round, at least 111 points more than any other player and more than twice as much as Italy's top scorer Paola Egonu (180).
· Smarzek scored 39 points in Poland's 3-2 defeat against Thailand on May 24, 2018, a record for one player in a single Volleyball Nations League match.
· Agnieszka Kakolewska scored a record 52 points from stuff blocks in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round, while teammate Marlena Plesnierowicz scored a record 24 points from aces.
Italy
· Italy, runners up at the 2018 World Championship, kicked off their 2018 Volleyball Nations League campaign with four consecutive defeats, including a straight-set loss in their opener against Turkey.
· Italy won 10 of their last 11 Volleyball Nations League fixtures and are unbeaten in their last eight matches in the competition, since a five-set defeat against Japan on May 29, 2018.
· Only Serbia (7) and United States (12) have won more Volleyball Nations League matches by a 3-0 scoreline than Italy (6).
· Paola Egonu scored a team-high 180 points at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League. Lucia Bosetti (112), Elena Pietrini (107) and Miryam Fatime Sylla (103) also reached the 100-point mark for Italy in last year's competition.
· Only three players, including Poland's Marlena Plesnierowicz (24), scored more points from aces in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round than Pietrini (19).
Paola Egonu spikes for Italy
Thailand - Germany (May 21, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Thailand and Germany will meet for the 13th time in world level major competitions (Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup). Germany won nine of the previous 12 encounters, including a five-set victory in last year's Volleyball Nations League.
· Thailand's last win over Germany at world level came at the 2016 World Grand Prix, when they came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory.
· Four of Germany's last five wins over Thailand at world level came in straight sets, with the only exception in that run the 3-2 victory at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
Thailand
· Thailand have yet to claim their first podium finish in a world level major competition.
· Thailand have lost their last nine Volleyball Nations League matches, since a five-set victory over Poland on May 24, 2018.
· Only Argentina (14) suffered more defeats at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League than Thailand (13).
· Ajcharaporn Kongyot scored 187 points in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round, at least 27 more than any other teammate (Chatchu-On Moksri 160).
· Only four players scored more points from aces in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round than Hattaya Bamrungsuk (18).
Germany
· Germany have yet to win a world level major competition. They claimed silver at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games (as East Germany) and finished in third place at both the 2002 and 2009 World Grand Prix.
· Germany's last three defeats at world level all came in straight sets, all at the 2018 World Championship.
· Last year, Germany kicked off their 2018 Volleyball Nations League campaign with a 3-1 win over Brazil (15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20) before losing each of their next six fixtures in the competition.
· Despite not appearing in Germany's last three matches, Louisa Lippmann scored a team-high 224 points at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· With 224 points, Lippmann finished in fifth place on the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round top scorers list.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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