Lausanne, Switzerland, May 20, 2019 - Sixteen teams will hit the courts on Tuesday when the second edition of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League begins with women's pool matches in Poland, Bulgaria, Brazil and Serbia. And with the information below you have all the team stats at your fingertips.
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Belgium· Belgium finished in 13th place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· 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.
· 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.
Brazil
· Brazil finished fourth at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Brazil won the World Grand Prix, the predecessor of the Volleyball Nations League, in both 2016 and 2017.
· In last year's Volleyball Nations League, Brazil had a winning streak of nine matches from matchround two to 10. Only USA (10) set a longer winning run in the Volleyball Nations League.
· Brazil finished in seventh place at the 2018 World Championship, their lowest finish at the tournament since 2002 (also 7th).
· Tandara Caixeta was Brazil's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 302 points.
Bulgaria· Bulgaria are the only debutants at the 2019 Volleyball Nations League. They replace Argentina in the competition.
· 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.
· At the World Grand Prix in 2017, Bulgaria finished in 17th place.
· Bulgaria's only podium finish in a world level major tournament was a third place at the 1980 Olympic Games.
· At the 2018 Challenger Cup, Hristina Ruseva was Bulgaria's top scorer on 51 points, including 20 points from blocks. She was the only player to score more than 10 points from blocks in the tournament.
China · China finished in third place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, defeating Brazil in the third-place match.
· China are the reigning Olympic champions in women's volleyball from Rio 2016.
· China finished on the podium in each of the last three world major level tournaments: first at 2017 Grand Champions Cup, third at both the 2018 Volleyball Nations League and 2018 World Championship.
· Next to their two third places in 2018, China also won the Asian Games title in September 2018.
· Zhu Ting was China's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 198 points. Her 86 points in the final round were more than any other player.
Dominican Republic· Dominican Republic finished in 14th place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Dominican Republic are aiming for their second podium finish at a world level major competition, after a third-place finish at the 2009 Grand Champions Cup.
· Dominican Republic finished in the top-10 at the last two World Championships: fifth in 2014, ninth in 2018.
· Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez (250) and Yonkaira Paola Peña Isabel (186) combined for 346 of Dominican Republic's 1072 points in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round (32%).
· Only Poland's Malwina Smarzek (361) scored more points in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round than Martinez (250).
Germany· Germany finished in 11th place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· 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 also finished in 11th place at the 2018 World Championship. The last time Germany reached the top-10 of a world level major tournament was in 2015: seventh at the World Grand Prix.
· 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.
Italy · Italy finished in seventh place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League. They were in sixth place after the preliminary round, but China (9th place) had already qualified for the final round as hosts.
· At the 2018 World Championship, Italy finished as runners-up, losing the final against Serbia.
· The last world level major tournament won by Italy was the 2011 World Cup.
· Only United States (12) and Serbia (7) 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.
Paola Egonu on target for Italy
Japan
· Japan finished in 10th place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Japan's most recent podium finish in a world level major competition was a second place at the 2014 World Grand Prix.
· 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.
· Japan are the reigning Asian champions in women's volleyball from 2017.
· Ai Kurugo was Japan's top scorer in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 158 points, one more than teammate Yuki Ishii (157).
Korea· Korea finished in 12th place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· have never finished a world level major competition higher than third. Their most recent third-place finish came at the 1997 World Grand Prix.
· Korea finished in third place at both the 2017 Asian Championship and the 2018 Asian Games.
· Korea won four of their first five matches at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Yeon Koung Kim scored 175 points at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, at least 22 points more than any other teammate (Jaeyeong Lee 153).
Netherlands
· Netherlands finished in joint-fifth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, together with Serbia.
· Netherlands finished on the podium of a world level major competition twice: first at the 2007 World Grand Prix and third at the 2016 World Grand Prix.
· Netherlands finished either fourth (2016 Olympic Games, 2018 World Championship) or fifth (2017 World Grand Prix, 2018 Volleyball Nations League) at their last four world level major tournaments.
· Netherlands won their first four matches at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Lonneke Slöetjes finished as Netherlands' top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 239 points.
Poland· Poland finished in ninth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· 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 Soviet Union.
· The last time Poland reached the podium of a world level major competition was in 1968: third at the Olympic Games.
· Despite missing out on the final round, Malwina Smarzek became top scorer of the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 361 points.
· Smarzek scored 39 points in Poland's 3-2 defeat against Thailand on 24 May 2018, a record for one player in a single Volleyball Nations League match.
Russia · Russia finished in eighth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Russia (including as Soviet Union and CIS) have won five of the six world level major competitions (Volleyball Nations League, Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup). They only need to claim the Volleyball Nations League to complete the whole set.
· Russia's last title in a world level major competition came in 2010, when they came twice from behind to beat Brazil in five sets in the World Championship final.
· Russia's last podium finish in a world level major competition came in 2015, when they finished in second place at the World Grand Prix.
· Irina Voronkova scored a team-high 210 points in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League preliminary round. Natalia Malykh followed with 152 points.
Irina Voronkova spikes for Russia
Serbia
· Serbia finished in joint-fifth place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, together with Netherlands.
· Serbia are the reigning world champions in women's volleyball, winning the title in October 2018. It was the first ever world title for Serbia (including predecessors).
· Serbia also are the reigning European champions (2017). They won the silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and they finished third in the 2017 World Grand Prix.
· Tijana Boskovic was Serbia's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 296 points.
· Boskovic was the most valuable player at the 2018 World Championship.
Thailand· Thailand finished in 15th place at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League.
· Thailand have yet to claim their first podium finish in a world level major competition.
· In 2018, Thailand reached the final of the Asian Games, in which they lost against Olympic champions China.
· In 2017, Thailand also finished as runners-up at the Asian Championship, losing the final against Japan.
· Ajcharaporn Kongyot scored 187 points in the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, at least 27 more than any other teammate (Chatchu-On Moksri 160).
Turkey· Turkey finished as runners-up at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League. Turkey lost the final 3-2 against the United States, despite taking the lead twice.
· Turkey's second-place finish at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League was their second podium spot at a world level major competition. They finished third at the 2012 World Grand Prix.
· Turkey also collected bronze at the 2017 European Championship, their third medal in this tournament after silver in 2003 and bronze in 2011.
· Turkey played seven five-setters at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, more than any other team.
· Meryem Boz was Turkey's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 250 points.
USA
· USA won the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League in 2018, defeating Turkey in five sets in the final.
· 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 12 June 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 was USA's top scorer at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League on 270 points. She was the most valuable player in the competition.