Apeldoorn, Netherlands, May 27, 2019 - Bulgaria play Poland in the first match in 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Pool 8 on Tuesday, before hosts the Netherlands take on Brazil. Get the head-to-head stats below.
Bulgaria - Poland (May 28, 2019)
Head-to-head
· This will be the first meeting between these teams in the Volleyball Nations League.
· Poland won five of their previous six encounters with Bulgaria in world level major competitions (Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup).
· Bulgaria's only victory in those six matches took place in the second group stage of the 1978 World Championship, a match played in Leningrad, Soviet Union.
Bulgaria
· Bulgaria have yet to claim their first victory in the Volleyball Nations League, as they lost each of their first three matches in the opening week of their maiden Volleyball Nations League campaign.
· Bulgaria have not lost more than three matches in a row in a single major competition since the 1986 World Championship, when they bowed out with four straight defeats.
· In last season's inaugural Volleyball Nations League, only two teams were without victory after four matches (Argentina and Italy).
Poland
· Poland started their 2019 Volleyball Nations League season with a defeat against Italy, followed by victories against Germany and Thailand.
· For Poland, this marks improvement on last season's campaign when they managed only one victory from their first three Volleyball Nations League matches.
· In the opening week, Malwina Smarzek led all scorers on 78 points, with 68 of hers coming off attacks.
Netherlands - Brazil (May 28, 2019)
Head-to-Head
· Netherlands have only beaten Brazil once in 26 meetings at world level major tournaments. That sole Dutch victory was a 3-2 win in the final round of the 2007 World Grand Prix.
· World level major tournaments are: Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup.
· These teams also met in the Volleyball Nations League twice last year. Brazil beat Netherlands 3-1 on 31 May and 3-0 on 28 June.
· Most recently, these teams met at the 2018 World Championship. Brazil beat Netherlands 3-2, after falling 1-0 and 2-1 behind.
Netherlands
· Netherlands started their opening week of this year's Volleyball Nations League with defeats against Serbia (3-0) and Turkey (3-1), before claiming their first win against Republic of Korea (3-0).
· Netherlands's victory over Republic of Korea ended a five-match losing streak for the team at world level major tournaments.
· Netherlands could win successive Volleyball Nations League matches for the first time since a run of four wins in June 2018.
· After week one, Juliet Lohuis is the competition's joint-best server, alongside Turkey's Ebrar Karakurt (0.70 ace average per set each).
Brazil
· Brazil started their opening week of this year's Volleyball Nations League with 3-0 victories over China and Russia and a 3-1 defeat against Dominican Republic.
· Last season, Brazil lost only one of their first 10 matches in the Volleyball Nations League.
· Only one of Brazil's last seven Volleyball Nations League matches did not end in a 3-0 victory or defeat, their 3-1 loss to Dominican Republic on 22 May 2019.
· Gabriela Braga Guimaraes ended the first week as Brazil's top scorer on 58 points.
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FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
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