Brasilia, Brazil, May 22, 2019 - Reigning Olympic champions China and Russia get play underway in 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Pool 3 on Wednesday. Their match will be followed by the encounter between pool hosts Brazil and the Dominican Republic. Get the head-to-head stats below.
China - Russia (May 22, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· China have won seven of their last eight matches against Russia at world level major competitions (FIVB Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup), including a 3-0 victory at the 2018 Nations League.
· Xiaotong Liu (15), Ting Zhu (14) and Xinhue Yuan (13) led China in scoring in that 3-0 Volleyball Nations League victory against Russia in Jiangmen on 6 June.
· Russia's only win against China in their last seven matches at world level was a 3-1 victory at the 2017 World Grand Prix.
· Russia beat China five times in a row from 2009 to 2014.
· The most recent encounter between China and Russia resulted in a 3-1 win for China at the 2018 World Championship.
China
· China started their 2019 Volleyball Nations League campaign with a 3-0 defeat against Brazil.
· China have lost five of their last seven VNL matches. Last season, they started their campaign with back-to-back victories.
· Against Brazil, Liu Yanhan (11 points) and captain Zeng Chunlei (10) led China in scoring.
Russia
· Russia started the 2019 Volleyball Nations League with a 3-1 defeat against Dominican Republic, the first time Russia had ever lost to those opponents in a major competition.
· Last season, Russia started their VNL season with back-to-back victories before suffering defeat in their third match (3-0 against Netherlands).
· Against Dominican Republic, Margarita Kurilo led the Russian charge on 22 points, with 19 of those coming off spikes.
Brazil - Dominican Republic (May 22, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Brazil have won all their 20 matches against Dominican Republic in world level major competitions (FIVB Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup), including a straight-set victory in last year's Nations League.
· Sixteen of Brazil's 20 world level victories over Dominican Republic came in straight sets (including a 3-0 awarded win at the 2003 World Cup).
· The last time Dominican Republic came close to beating Brazil at world level was at the 2008 World Grand Prix, where they had won the first two sets (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 9-15).
· At the Pan American Games, Dominican Republic's last win over Brazil came in the 2003 semi-finals (3-2). They went on to win their first title in the tournament, by beating Cuba in five sets in the final.
Brazil
· Brazil started their 2019 Volleyball Nations League with a victory in straight sets over China.
· This was already improvement on last season, when Brazil started with a loss and also bowed out with back-to-back defeats.
· Against China, Gabriela 'Gabi' Braga Guimaraes led the Brazilian attack on 20 points, with teammate Ana 'Paula' Borgo chipping in another 16 herself.
Dominican Republic
· Dominican Republic kickstarted their 2019 VNL season with a 3-1 victory over Russia, opponents they had not previously beaten in a major tournament.
· Last VNL season, Dominican Republic won only three of their 15 matches in the competition and it took until their fourth match to register their first victory.
· Against Russia, Brayelin Elizabeth Martínez led the way on 24 points, at least double that of what any of her teammates contributed in the match.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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