FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool G1: v (24 June)

Head-to-Head

· Italy and Brazil will meet for the 26th time at the World Grand Prix. Brazil leads with 21 victories against Italy's four. · The 21 defeats against Brazil is Italy's highest number of losses against a single opponent at the World Grand Prix. They have lost 14 matches to Russia. · These teams most recently met earlier in this year's competition on 9 June. Brazil won 3-1 and are currently on their longest winning streak against Italy in the World Grand Prix (10). · Brazil outblocked Italy 17-8 in their meeting two weeks ago, with Natalia Pereira (5) and (7) scoring most points from stuff blocks. · Italy's last win over Brazil at the World Grand Prix came on 8 August 2010 (3-1).

Italy

· Italy have lost their last three World Grand Prix matches - 3-1 against Netherlands and five-set defeats against Russia and Thailand. · Italy can lose three successive World Grand Prix matches in five sets for the first time since 2003 when they lost consecutively against Netherlands, Cuba and . · Valentina Diouf leads her teammates in scoring with 76 points in total (58 spikes, 10 blocks, 8 aces). · Coming into this weekend of play, Paola Ogechi Egonu is the second-best spiker in Group 1 of the competition with a success rate of 44.8%. Only Lonneke Slöetjes (NED) has a better rate (45.9%).

Brazil

· Brazil suffered a second defeat in this year's competition when proved too strong (3-0) on 19 June. · Brazil could lose successive World Grand Prix matches for the first time since a run of four defeats in 2007. That streak included a defeat against Italy. · Brazil have only once lost back-to-back World Grand Prix matches in straight sets: in 2002. · The last time Brazil suffered three defeats at a single edition of the World Grand Prix was in 2010, including a defeat against Italy. · Coming into this weekend of play, Danielle Lins is the best setter of Group 1 with an average of 5.23 per set.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool G1: v Belgium (24 June)

Head-to-Head

· Belgium are hoping to even the score against Turkey at the World Grand Prix as the Belgians won one of their previous three meetings in the competition. · Turkey won their most recent World Grand Prix meeting, two weeks ago on 10 June, in straight sets. · Turkey's Polen Uslupehlivan scored a staggering 19 of her team's 45 points from spikes in that match. Belgium's Freya Aelbrecht scored five points from blocks, three more than the whole team of Turkey combined.

Turkey

· Turkey lost their last World Grand Prix match 3-0 against United States. · They have never lost back-to-back World Grand Prix matches in straight sets. · Coming into this weekend of play, only Russia's Nataliya Goncharova (120) has scored more points in Group 1 than Polen Uslupehlivan (114). · Turkey have the best server of Group 1. Nursevil Aydinlar scored 11 aces from 88 attempts, an average of 0.48 per set.

Belgium

· Belgium are still waiting for their first win at the 2016 World Grand Prix. · Their last win in the competition came in their final match of 2015 against Russia (3-0). · Lise Van Hecke leads her teammates in scoring with 78 points (71 spikes, 7 blocks). · Coming into this weekend of play, only Russia's Irina Zaryazhko (24), Irina Fetisova (17) and China's Yunli Xu (16) have scored more points from stuff blocks in Group 1 than Laura Heyrman (15).

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool G1: Brazil v Belgium (25 June)

Head-to-Head

· Brazil have won each of their previous four World Grand Prix meetings with Belgium. · Belgium won the first set against Brazil at the World Grand Prix in last week's meeting (3-1). · Juciely Cristina Barreto (13 spikes, 6 blocks) and De Paula Blassioli (17 spikes, 2 aces) both scored 19 points for Brazil in this match. Lise Van Hecke scored most points for Belgium (15 spikes, 1 block). · Their only other meeting at a major tournament came at the 1956 World Championship (3-0 Brazil win).

Brazil

· Brazil have won five of their seven matches at the 2016 World Grand Prix. · Brazil lost two matches in 2015 and the last World Grand Prix campaign in which they suffered more than two defeats was 2010: three. · Natalia Pereira has scored 87 points. · Fabiana Claudino has 18 stuff blocks and an average of 0.7 blocks per set. · Danielle Lins has an average of 4.8 setups per set.

Belgium

· Belgium clinched their first victory at the 2016 World Grand Prix with a 3-1 win against Turkey on Friday. · They can now win two matches in a row for the first time since a run of three wins in 2014, against Puerto Rico, Poland and Netherlands. · Lise Van Hecke has scored 98 points. · Freya Aelbrecht has 18 stuff blocks and an average of 0.7 blocks per set.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool G1: Turkey v Italy (25 June)

Head-to-Head

· Italy have won three of the previous four World Grand Prix meetings with Turkey. Turkey's only win came in the 2014 edition (3-1). · These teams most recently met at the European Olympic Qualification tournament in 2016. Italy won the match for third place in five sets and qualified for the World Olympic Qualification tournament.

Turkey

· Turkey's last six matches at the 2016 World Grand Prix have resulted in L-L-W-W-L-L and by that order they should win their next two matches. · They had a run of seven defeats from the start of the 2015 World Grand Prix. · Polen Uslupehlivan has scored 132 points. Only Russia's Nataliya Goncharova has more, 140. · Özge Nur Yurtdagülen has scored 14 points from blocks. · Nursevil Aydinlar leads all players with 11 aces.

Italy

· Italy could lose four matches in a row at this World Grand Prix. They suffered four successive defeats in 2015. · None of their seven matches at the 2016 World Grand Prix finished in straight sets. · Paola Ogechi Egonu has scored 96 points. Her 44.6% success rate with spikes is the second highest of all players behind Lonneke Slöetjes (NED, 44.9%) · has an average of 2.5 digs per set (76 digs).

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool G1: Italy v Belgium (26 June)

Head-to-Head

· Italy won both of their previous World Grand Prix meetings with Belgium (2015) without dropping a set. · Italy have only played more matches in the competition against Chinese Taipei without losing a single set (4 matches). · Their most recent meeting came at the 2016 European Olympic Qualification tournament. Italy beat Belgium 3-2.

Italy

· Italy beat Turkey 3-1, ending a four-match losing streak at the World Grand Prix. · Italy can claim back-to-back wins for the second time this season, after consecutive wins against Serbia and Japan on 10 and 12 June respectively. · None of Italy's last 12 matches ended in straight sets. Their last 3-0 was the loss to Russia on 22 July 2015. · Valentina Diouf scored a match-high 17 points for Italy in their match against Turkey. Serena Ortolani scored from a match-high five blocks.

Belgium

· Belgium are still searching for their second World Grand Prix in win 2016 as Brazil proved too strong (3- 1). · Last year Belgium managed to win two of their World Grand Prix matches. On their debut, in 2014, they won eight matches. · Dominika Sobolska (4) and Lise Van Hecke (3) scored seven of Belgium's nine points from stuff blocks against Brazil. · Lise Van Hecke is Belgium's top scorer in the competition with 114 points (97 spikes, 11 blocks, 6 aces).

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool G1: Turkey v Brazil (26 June)

Head-to-Head

· These teams will meet for the fourth time at the World Grand Prix. Brazil won the first two - 3-0 in 2008 and 3-1 in 2012 - while Turkey managed to win their last encounter in 2014 (3-2). · Brazil only have a lower win percentage against United States (59%, W13-L9), Russia (59%, W17-L12) and Bulgaria (0%, W0-L1) than against Turkey (67%, W2-L1) at the World Grand Prix. · Brazil's loss against Turkey in 2014 is one of their five defeats in their last 43 World Grand Prix matches.

Turkey

· Turkey have lost three consecutive World Grand Prix matches for the first time in team history. · Their most recent match was the 3-1 defeat to Italy. Fatma Yildirim was Turkey's top scorer with 15 points. · Brazil will be the first NORCECA team Turkey face at the World Grand Prix.

Brazil

· Brazil have won six of their eight matches at the 2016 World Grand Prix. · Last year they lost two matches. The last World Grand Prix campaign in which they suffered more than two defeats was 2010 (3). · Jaqueline Pereira De Carvalho Endres and Juciely Cristina Barreto both scored four points from stuff blocks against Belgium. · Danielle Lins is currently among Group 1's best setters in the competition with an average per set of 4.13.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool H1: China v Netherlands (24 June)

Head-to-Head

· These teams have met on 15 occasions at the World Grand Prix with China leading Netherlands with 12 wins to three. · China and Netherlands have played three five-setters against each other in the competition, resulting in the only three wins of the Dutch team against China. · Netherlands' last World Grand Prix win over China came in 2009. China has claimed three successive wins in the competition since that victory.

China

· China are still unbeaten at this year's World Grand Prix, winning all six matches. They won their first nine in 2015. · China have lost only three sets after the first two weeks of Group 1, the fewest of all teams. · Coming into this weekend of play, Yunli Xu is the second-best blocker in Group 1 with an average per set of 0.76. Only Russia's Irina Zaryazhko has a better rate (1.04).

Netherlands

· Netherlands have lost just two of their last 14 World Grand Prix matches, both against Russia in this year's edition. · Netherlands have not lost three matches at an edition of the World Grand Prix since 2013 (5 defeats). · Coming into this weekend of play, only Russia's Nataliya Goncharova (120) and Turkey's Polen Uslupehlivan (114) have scored more points than Lonneke Slöetjes (112) in Group 1. · Slöetjes is currently the best spiker of Group 1 with a success rate of 45.9% (105 spikes, 229 attempts).

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool H1: Germany v United States (24 June)

Head-to-Head

· Germany and United States will meet for the third time at the 2016 World Grand Prix. United States won both previous meetings this year (3-0, 3-1). · Louisa Lippmann scored most points for Germany in both those matches (10 and 13). was USA's most prolific scorer in match 1 (11 points) and in match 2 (20). · This will be the 19th encounter between the teams at the World Grand Prix. United States won the first eight and the last six, while Germany won the four meetings in-between.

Germany

· Germany are hoping to secure their first win at the 2016 World Grand Prix. · The only time Germany failed to win a single match at an edition of the World Grand Prix was 1995. · Louisa Lippmann leads her teammates in scoring with 81 points (69 spikes, 11 blocks, 1 ace). · Coming into this weekend of play, only Turkey's Nursevil Aydinlar (11) and Japan's Saori Sakoda (10) have served up more aces in Group 1 than Wiebke Silge (8). · In addition, Lenka Dürr currently is the third-best digger (2.50 average per set) and receiver (50.5%) in Group 1.

United States

· United States have won five of their six matches at this year's World Grand Prix, only losing 3-1 against China. · United States have won at least one set in each of their last 23 World Grand Prix matches. · Of United States' last seven wins in the competition, six have been in straight sets. · Coming into this weekend of play, is the second-best setter in Group 1 with an average of 4.05 per set. Only Brazil's Danielle Lins (5.23) has a better average.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool H1: China v Germany (25 June)

Head-to-Head

· Germany have won only one of their previous 19 World Grand Prix meetings with China - 3-1 in 2009. · After that win, Germany suffered four successive defeats against China in the competition, including a 3-0 loss in this year's World Grand Prix (11 June). · In their last meeting, China outblocked Germany 15 to five with three of their players scoring four points from stuff blocks - Changning Zhang, Yunli Xu and Xinyue Yuan. · China's 95% winning percentage against Germany is the highest for them against a team they have faced more than three times at the World Grand Prix.

China

· China have won all their seven World Grand Prix matches in 2016, including five in straight sets. · After beating Netherlands, China have so far won all four matches against other teams that have qualified for the Rio 2016 - USA, Serbia, Brazil, Netherlands. · They won their first nine matches of the 2015 World Grand Prix. · Yunli Xu and Ni Yan have each scored 16 points with blocks.

Germany

· On Friday, Germany lost 3-0 against USA, meaning they have now suffered defeat in all 7 of their matches in their 2016 World Grand Prix campaign. · Germany's seven-match losing streak is their longest in the competition since losing nine in a row in 2010-2011. · They only failed to win a match in the 1995 World Grand Prix. · Louisa Lippmann has scored 100 points. · Lenka Dürr has 77 excellents a receiver, 51.2% efficiency. She also has 58 digs, 2.3 per set.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool H1: Netherlands v United States (25 June)

Head-to-Head

· These teams will meet for the 13th time at the World Grand Prix. United States leads Netherlands with seven wins to five. · Netherlands have won three of their last four World Grand Prix meetings with United States - 3-0 in 2005, 3-1 in 2007 and 3-2 in 2009. United States won the most recent encounter in the competition - 3-0 in 2013. · Netherlands have only won more World Grand Prix matches against Italy, Poland and Japan (all 6) than versus United States (5).

Netherlands

· Netherlands have now lost three matches in the 2016 World Grand Prix. They were unbeaten in 2015. · The last six times Netherlands lost in the World Grand Prix, they always bounced back and won their next match. · Lonneke Slöetjes leads Netherlands in scoring, 128 points. · Yvon Belien has served 10 aces.

United States

· On Friday, USA defeated Germany in straight sets to raise their winning streak to four. · USA have won 21 of their last 23 in the World Grand Prix and the only team to defeat them in these series is China (twice). · USA have dropped only one set in their last eight victories combined in the World Grand Prix. · Kelsey Robinson (60), (59) and Rachel Adams (58) are the top scoring players for USA. · -Burbach has a 49% efficiency as receiver.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool H1: China v United States (26 June)

Head-to-Head

· These teams have met 34 times at the World Grand Prix. Brazil - Japan (39) and Brazil - China (36) are the only fixtures to have been played more often at the tournament. · China leads United States with 21 wins to 13. They have only recorded more wins against Japan (23) in the competition. · United States have not lost more than 13 World Grand Prix matches against any other team than China. · Earlier this tournament, on 12 June, China beat United States 3-1. Yunli Xu (5) scored a third of her team's points from stuff blocks (15). Still, they were outblocked by United States (17-15).

China

· China are the only unbeaten team left in Group 1 of the 2016 World Grand Prix, winning all eight matches. · Last year, China won all nine of their group matches. · China have won their last three World Grand Prix matches without dropping a set. They last time they won four successive matches in straight sets was in 2005 (run of 6). · Yunli Xu scored six points from stuff blocks in China's last match against Germany. She is currently among Group 1's best blockers in the competition with 22 points from stuff blocks, averaging 0.81 per set.

United States

· United States have lost just one of their eight matches at this year's World Grand Prix, the 3-1 defeat against China. · They have suffered only two defeats in their last 24 matches in the competition, both against China. · United States were outspiked by their last opponents, Netherlands, but excelled in blocking, serving and avoiding errors. · Foluke Akinradewo (4), Dietzen (4) and Jordan Larson-Burbach (3) scored three or more points from blocks against Netherlands. · Jordan Larson-Burbach is currently among Group 1's best receivers with an efficiency of 48.67%.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool H1: Netherlands v Germany (26 June)

Head-to-Head

· Netherlands have won each of their four previous World Grand Prix meetings with Germany. · Netherlands have only played more World Grand Prix matches against Poland (6) and Thailand (5) without losing once. · Netherlands is one of two teams Germany have yet to beat in the competition alongside Argentina (L1). · Their most recent meeting came at the 2016 European Olympic Qualification tournament. Germany won in five sets.

Netherlands

· Netherlands have lost their last two matches in the World Grand Prix and could lose three in a row for the first time since 2013 (run of 4). · Despite their defeat in their last match against United States, they outspiked their opponent 50 to 48. Lonneke Slöetjes scored a total of 21 points in that match of which 19 points from spikes. · Slöetjes is currently among the best scorers (149 points) and best spikers (44.52%) in Group 1 of the competition. · Yvon Belien is currently one of the best servers in Group 1 with 10 aces, averaging 0.36 per set.

Germany

· Germany are eyeing their first win at the 2016 World Grand Prix. Their last win in the competition came in their last match of 2015, a 3-1 win over Serbia. · The last time Germany lost nine successive World Grand Prix matches was from 2010-2011. · Only once they failed to win a match in a single edition of the World Grand Prix: 1995. · Louisa Lippmann leads her teammates in scoring with 113 points (101 spikes, 11 blocks, 1 ace). · Lenka Dürr is currently among Group 1's best diggers with an average per set of 2.31.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool I1: Japan v Thailand (24 June)

Head-to-Head

· Thailand won only two of their previous nine World Grand Prix encounters with Japan, both in five sets. · At last year's World Grand Prix, Japan beat Thailand twice in straight sets. · Their most recent meeting came at the World Olympic Qualification tournament last month. Japan won in five sets.

Japan

· Japan beat Germany 3-1 in their last match at the World Grand Prix. It was their second win at this year's competition after a 3-0 win against Serbia in their first match. · Japan have not booked back-to-back victories in their last 17 World Grand Prix matches. · Saori Sakoda is the second-best server in Group 1 coming into this weekend of play. She averages 0.43 per set, just behind Turkey's Nursevil Aydinlar (0.48).

Thailand

· Thailand booked their second victory at the 2016 World Grand Prix with a 3-2 win against Italy on 20 June. · They have not won back-to-back in their last 29 World Grand Prix matches. · Thailand have won successive World Grand Prix matches in five sets on only one occasion - the first two matches of the 2009 edition against Poland and Japan. · Ajcharaporn Kongyot has scored 98 points so far in the competition. Only Russia's Nataliya Goncharova (120), Turkey's Polen Uslupehlivan (114) and Netherlands' Lonneke Slöetjes (112) have more in Group 1 coming into this weekend of play. · Thailand currently have the best two receivers of Group 1 in the competition - Wilavan Apinyapong (55.8%) and Piyanut Pannoy (51.1%).

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool I1: Serbia v Russia (24 June)

Head-to-Head

· Serbia and Russia have met four times in the World Grand Prix with both teams winning twice. · Russia's wins over Serbia in the competition both came in five sets. · These teams also met in the semifinals of the 2015 European Championship. Russia won 3-1 and eventually won the title after a 3-0 win against Netherlands in the final. Serbia finished in third place.

Serbia

· Serbia last three World Grand Prix were played in five-sets: a 3-2 win against Brazil (17 June), a 3-2 defeat against China (18 June) and a 3-2 win against Belgium (19 June). · For Serbia it was the first time they played three consecutive five-setters at the World Grand Prix. · Serbia can win back-to-back World Grand Prix matches in five sets for the first time. · Jovana Brakocevic leads her teammates in scoring with 88 points (79 spikes, 7 blocks, 2 aces).

Russia

· Russia are unbeaten in seven successive World Grand Prix matches, including their six of this year, their longest run since nine in a row in 2013-2014. · Russia and China are the only teams left yet to lose a match in Group 1 of the 2016 World Grand Prix. · Russia can win successive World Grand Prix matches in five sets for the first time since 2007 (v United States and Cuba). · Coming into this weekend of play, Nataliya Goncharova is the most prolific scorer of Group 1 with 120 points (105 spikes, 12 blocks, 3 aces). · Irina Zaryazhko is currently the best blocker in Group 1 (1.04 average per set). Teammate Irina Fetisova is in third place (0.74).

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool I1: Japan v Serbia (25 June)

Head-to-Head

· Japan and Serbia will meet for the seventh time at the World Grand Prix. Japan won four of the previous six encounters including a 3-0 win on 9 June at this year's competition (31-29, 25-18, 28-26). · Japan needed 84 points to secure the 3-0 win on 9 June. On only two occasions at the World Grand Prix a team needed more points in their straight sets win - Brazil (87) against Japan on 5 August 2000 and Netherlands (88) against Dominican Republic on 15 August 2009. · Sarina Koga (JPN, 20 points) and Jovana Brakocevic (SRB, 18) led their teams in scoring in that match.

Japan

· By defeating Thailand on Friday, Japan made it consecutive World Grand Prix wins for the first time since last year. Their two wins in a row in July 2015 was followed by 16 World Grand Prix matches without successive triumphs. · Japan have not won more than two in a row since stringing together eight successive wins in August 2014. · Saori Sakoda has scored 10 aces. · Kanami Tashiro has an average of 5.3 setups per set.

Serbia

· On Friday, Serbia beat Russia 3-2 and they have now won two matches in a row for the first time this season. · The last four World Grand Prix matches involving Serbia have all been decided in five sets (W3-L1). · Serbia have not won more than two in a row in the World Grand Prix since posting six successive victories in 2012-2013. · Jovana Brakocevic has scored 99 points.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool I1: Thailand v Russia (25 June)

Head-to-Head

· Thailand are hoping to claim their first victory over Russia at the World Grand Prix after 10 successive defeats. · Earlier this World Grand Prix, Russia beat Thailand 3-0. Irina Zaryazkho scored seven points from blocks, three more than the whole team of Thailand combined. · Nataliya Goncharova scored 21 points from spikes against Thailand, more than half of Russia's team combined (41).

Thailand

· On Friday, Thailand lost 3-0 against Japan and missed a chance of establishing their first World Grand Prix winning streak since August 2013. · Thailand have won two matches in the 2016 World Grand Prix. They won three in 2015. · Ajcharaporn Kongyot has scored 111 points, including 10 aces. · Wilavan Apinyapong has an efficiency of almost 60% (59.2) in receiving.

Russia

· On Friday, Russia lost 3-2 against Serbia, which was their first defeat in the World Grand Prix this season. · It also snapped Russia's seven-match winning streak in the competition, which started following a 3-0 defeat against China on 25 July 2015. · Nataliya Goncharova has scored 140 points. · Irina Zaryazhko has registered 29 stuffed blocks. · Anna Malova has had 79 digs and an average of 2.8 per set.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool I1: Japan v Russia (26 June)

Head-to-Head

· Russia have won 18 of their previous 28 meetings with Japan at the World Grand Prix. · Both teams have not recorded back-to-back wins in their last seven World Grand Prix encounters. · Japan have only won more World Grand Prix matches against Korea (13) and Germany (12) than against Russia (10). · Russia have only recorded more victories in the competition against Korea (19) than against Japan (18).

Japan

· Japan lost to Serbia in their last match at the World Grand Prix (3-2). · Japan have now lost their last five five-setters in the competition, since the 3-2 win against Korea on 16 August 2014. On only one occasion Japan lost six successive five-setters: 1999-2000. · Yukiko Ebata scored most points against Serbia (21). She is Japan's top scorer in the competition so far with 75 points. · Saori Sakoda is currently among the best servers in Group 1 of the World Grand Prix with 10 aces and an average per set of 0.32. · Kanami Tashiro is one of the best setters in Group 1 with an average of 5.39 per set.

Russia

· Russia have lost just one of their eight matches at this year's World Grand Prix, the 3-2 defeat to Serbia. · Russia scored 22 points from stuff blocks in their last match against Thailand. Irina Zaryazhko scored nine points and Nataliya Goncharova five points from stuff blocks. · Goncharova (161) is currently among the best scorers and best spikers (43.75%) in Group 1 of the 2016 World Grand Prix. · Irina Zaryazhko (38) has scored most points from stuff block so far in Group 1, averaging 1.19 per set. · Anna Malova is currently one of the best diggers in Group 1 with an average of 2.69 per set.

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FIVB WORLD GRAND PRIX PREVIEWS WEEK 4 – JUNE 24 TO 26

Pool I1: Serbia v Thailand (26 June)

Head-to-Head

· Serbia and Thailand have met four times at the World Grand Prix. · Serbia won their first meeting in the competition in 2011 (3-0) after which Thailand won the following three - 3-1 in 2012 and 3-2 wins in 2014 and 2015. · Thailand have only won more World Grand Prix matches against Puerto Rico (5) and Cuba (4) than against Serbia (3).

Serbia

· For the fifth match in a row Serbia played a five-setter in the competition. They have won four of them, including the last three (versus Belgium, Russia and Japan). · Serbia have now won more five-setters in 2016 (4) than in their previous World Grand Prix participations combined (3). Still, their record in five-setters in the competition is seven wins to 12 defeats. · Serbia can win four successive World Grand Prix matches for the first time since a run of six from 2012- 2013. · Brankica Mihajlovic scored most points for Serbia against Japan (24). Milena Rasic (18), Tijana Bošković (18) and Stefana Veljkovic (16) also reached double figures in that match. · Jovana Brakocevic is Serbia's top scorer in the competition with 99 points.

Thailand

· Thailand lost 3-1 to Russia despite outspiking their opponents 42 to 38. · Thailand have now won two of their eight matches at the 2016 World Grand Prix. They need one more win to equal their three victories of last year. · Ajcharaporn Kongyot is among Group 1's best scorers with 124 points (107 spikes, 7 blocks, 10 aces). She is also one of the best servers with 10 aces, averaging 0.36 per set. · Thailand also currently have two of the best receivers in Group 1 with Wilavan Apinyapong (54.30%) and Piyanut Pannoy (48.85%).

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