Ruse, Bulgaria, May 18, 2019 - Belgium will take on title-holders USA and hosts Bulgaria will play Japan when the women's 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League gets underway at the Monbat Arena in Ruse on May 21. Get the team and head-to-head stats below.
Belgium - United States (May 21, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· United States won all their previous three matches against Belgium in world level major competitions (Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup), including a straight-set win in last year's Volleyball Nations League.
· United States also beat Belgium 3-0 at the 2015 World Grand Prix and 3-1 at the World Grand Prix in 2017.
· Volleyball Nations League holders United States have lost their last two matches against CEV opposition at world level, defeats against Italy (3-1) and Netherlands (3-2) both at the 2018 World Championship.
Belgium
· Belgium have recorded just two top-10 finishes in a world level major competition, a sixth-place finish at the 2014 World Grand Prix and a 10th-place finish in the same competition the year after.
· Belgium won two of their three matches in the opening week of the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, a straight-set victory in their opener against Republic of Korea and a five-set win over Dominican Republic in their third fixture.
· Britt Herbots scored 213 points at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, more than any of her teammates. Kaja Grobelna contributed 181 points.
· Only Poland's Marlena Plesnierowicz (24) and Turkey's Eda Erdem Dündar (22) scored more points from aces than Marlies Janssens (21) in the preliminary round of the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
United States
· Defending champions United States came from behind twice to beat Turkey 3-2 in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League final (17-25, 25-22, 26-28, 25-15, 15-7).
· USA's Volleyball Nations League win was their eighth title in one of the world level major competitions and their first since the 2015 World Grand Prix.
· United States won 17 of their 19 matches at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, with the only exceptions a 3-1 loss against Serbia on June 12, 2018 and a five-set defeat against Turkey in the opening week.
· United States have won 12 Volleyball Nations League matches in straight sets, at least five more than any other team (Serbia on seven).
· Michelle Bartsch-Hackley scored 165 spikes from 344 attempts (48%) in the preliminary round of the 2018 Volleyball Nations League. Only Serbia's Tijana Boškovic (49%) recorded a higher success rate in the opening phase of the competition.
· Bartsch-Hackley scored a total 192 points in the preliminary round of the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, at least 63 more than any other teammate (Jordan Larson on 129).
Bulgaria - Japan (May 21, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Japan and Bulgaria met six times before in a major intercontinental competition (Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup), with Japan winning five of these meetings, to Bulgaria's one triumph.
· The most recent of those encounters took place in the 2013 World Grand Prix, when visiting Bulgaria won in straight sets in Sendai.
· They also met in the 1981 World Cup, when hosts Japan emerged victorious 3-0 in Sapporo.
· There have been four encounters between these teams at World Championships, all won by Japan. Most recently, they met in the group stage in 2002, with Japan winning 3-1 in Münster, Germany.
Bulgaria
· After winning the 2018 Challenger Cup, Bulgaria earned the right to compete in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, joining Belgium, Dominican Republic and Poland as the challenger teams in the competition.
· Bulgaria also took part in the last five instalments of the World Grand Prix, which preceded the Volleyball Nations League. Their best finish in the Grand Prix was ninth place on debut in 2013.
· At the 2018 World Championship Bulgaria advanced to the second round, ultimately registering a 12th-place finish.
· Bulgaria achieved that with a squad that averaged nearly 25 years of age. Bulgaria's current 30-player set-up averages only 22 years of age, and joins Belgium's as the joint-youngest in the competition.
· Bulgaria is the only team to feature in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League that was not present in the inaugural Volleyball Nations League last year. Bulgaria replace Argentina from last year's field.
Bulgaria won the 2018 Volleyball Challenger Cup to qualify for the 2019 VNL
Japan
· In the inaugural Volleyball Nations League last year, Japan registered a 10th-place finish, by virtue of seven wins and eight defeats in the competition.
· In this tournament, Japan started with two defeats, at one point won back-to-back matches, but mostly alternated wins and defeats.
· Each of Japan's last four matches in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League went to a fifth-set decider, with Japan winning two and losing two of those.
· In 25 showings in the World Grand Prix, which preceded the Volleyball Nations League, Japan recorded one podium finish, as they were runners-up in 2014.
· At the World Championship last year, Japan reached the third round, where they were eliminated in a pool that also featured Italy and eventual champions Serbia. Japan finished in sixth place.
· In the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, Ai Kurogo emerged as Japan's leading points scorer. Her 158 came courtesy of 146 spikes, nine aces and three blocks.
· At an average height of 1.76 m, players in Japan's 30-woman squad join Thailand's as on average the shortest of all.
FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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