FIVB WORLD LEAGUE PREVIEWS WEEK 2 JUNE 23-26, 2016

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1 Pool D1: Poland - Argentina (24 June) Poland have won 18 of their 20 World League matches against Argentina. Argentina's only two wins against Poland in the competition came in the first two meetings between these teams. In 2002, Argentina beat Poland twice in straight sets. Against no other team have Poland won more than 11 World League matches (Japan and United States). Argentina have only lost more World League matches against Brazil (23) than versus Poland (18). Poland Poland have won only one of their last six World League matches, the 3-1 victory over Bulgaria in their 2016 opener. Poland have lost their last two matches both with a 3-0 scoreline and can lose three consecutive World League matches in straight sets for the second time after a four-match run on their debut in Poland have not win in straight sets since beating Russia 3-0 on 28 May 2015 (18 matches since). Only Dawid Konarski (10 points) reached the 10-points mark in their match against Serbia. Argentina Argentina can lose four consecutive World League matches for the first time since a streak of 13 successive losses from Their last win came in their last match of the 2015 season, when they beat Belgium 3-2 in the Small Final. Their result of their last six matches against CEV teams has alternated: loss against Bulgaria - win against Bulgaria - loss against Bulgaria - win against Bulgaria - loss against France - win against Belgium. Cristian Poglajen scored a team-high 17 points in Argentina's 3-2 defeat against Iran, including a matchhigh four from serves.

2 Pool D1: Russia - France (24 June) Russia and France will meet for the 10th time at the World League. Russia won five times, France four. They most recently met in the World League on 24 August 2006, when Russia beat France in five sets. Despite this being their 10th meeting Russia and France have only been paired against each other in two different World League seasons so far: four matches in 2000, five matches in Earlier this year these teams squared off in the final of the Olympic Qualification Tournament on 10 January. Russia won 3-1. Earlier, France had beaten Russia 3-1 in the group stages of the Olympic Qualification Tournament (6 January). Russia Russia bounced back from their 3-0 loss against Serbia in their 2016 World League opener by beating Poland (3-0) and Bulgaria (3-1). They can now win three matches in a row for the first time since four successive wins in Only one of Russia's last 13 World League matches ended in five sets, as they lost 3-2 to Poland on 20 June Four Russian players scored 10 or more points in their last match against Bulgaria: Kostyantyn Bakun (20), Dmitriy Muserskiy (14), Alexander Markin (10) and Egor Kliuka (10). France France lost their last match of the opening weekend 3-2 to Belgium, ending a streak of four wins at the World League. They can lose consecutive World League matches for the first time since a streak of four losses in France have lost only two of their last 21 World League matches, 3-1 against United States in the 2015 group stage and the aforementioned loss to Belgium. Kevin Tillie was France's top scorer in their match against Belgium, scoring 20 points, including 19 from spikes.

3 Pool D1: Poland - Russia (25 June) Poland and Russia have met each other at the World League 22 times. Poland have won eight times, Russia 14 times. Poland had won their last four World League matches with Russia before Russia beat them 3-0 last weekend (18 June). Russia can now beat Poland in consecutive World League meetings for the second time, after a streak of 10 wins from Russia's Kostyantyn Bakun finished as top scorer in their match last weekend with 14 points. Poland's Dawid Konarski finished second with 13 points. Poland Poland have won two and lost two of their 2016 World League matches. They can win two in a row for the first time since beating Iran and USA in June and July Poland have won 11 of their 16 competitive matches in Mateusz Bieniek has seven blocks and an average of 0.7 per set. Bartosz Bednorz has a 47% efficiency as receiver. Russia Russia have suffered two straight-set defeats in the 2016 World League. They have also won one match by a 3-0 score, against Poland. Russia have already claimed more wins in the 2016 World League, two, than they had in the 2015 campaign, one win. They have won six of their nine competitive matches in Dmitriy Muserskiy has 67.3% success with his spikes, most of all players in Group 1. His teammate Kostyantyn Bakun is second with 58.3%.

4 Pool D1: France - Argentina (25 June) France and Argentina will meet for the 20 th time at the World League. France have won 11 matches, Argentina eight. France have won six of their last seven World League matches against Argentina, the only exception being the 3-2 loss on 27 June Their most recent meeting was the 2015 semifinal in Group 2, which France won 3-0. At the 2014 World Championship France beat Argentina 3-1 in the Second Round. France France recovered from their 3-2 loss against Belgium by beating Russia 3-0. It was their third win in four matches in the 2016 World League. All three wins came by a 3-0 score. In 2015, France recorded 11 wins in straight sets in the World League. Antonin Rouzier (42) and Kevin Tillie (40) are France's top scorers. Tillie also has a 57.4% efficiency as receiver. Benjamin Toniutti has an average of 12.4 setups per set. Jenia Grebennikov has 2.7 digs per set. Argentina Argentina have yet to win for the first time in the 2016 World League. They claimed their first win of last year's World League campaign in their first match. They have lost the opening set in each of their four matches this World League and they won the third set in three of the four encounters.. Cristian Poglajen (53), Bruno Lima (51) and Sebastian Solé (48) are their top scorers. Luciano De Cecco has an average of 6.8per set as setter.

5 Pool D1: Argentina - Russia (26 June) Argentina and Russia will meet for the first time at the World League. Their last meeting at a major tournament was at the 2015 World Cup. Russia won 3-1. At the 2000 Summer Olympics these teams met in the semifinal. Russia won 3-1, but lost the final to Yugoslavia. Argentina lost the bronze medal match to Italy. Argentina Argentina beat reigning champions France 3-2 on Saturday, ending a four-match losing streak. The win over France was Argentina's first win at the 2016 World League and their first win since beating Belgium 3-2 in the Small Final in Five players reached double figures in Argentina's match against France: Sebastian Solé (19), Cristian Poglajen (18), Ezequiel Palacios (14) Pablo Crer (12) and Nicolas Bruno (11). Russia Russia beat Poland 3-1 on Saturday. Victor Poletaev became Russia's top scorer with 19 points. Russia have won three of their last four World League matches, the exception being the 3-0 loss to France on 24 June. Russia's last nine World League matches have not ended in five sets, since the 3-2 loss to Poland on 20 June Russia lost their last World League match against a CSV team, the 3-1 defeat to Brazil in 2014.

6 Pool D1: Poland - France (26 June) Poland have lost their last three World League matches versus France, including last year's semifinal. They last beat France on 11 July 2007, 3-2 in the Group Stage. The last four World League meetings between these teams all ended in five sets. In total these teams have met 10 times at the World League. Poland have won four times and France six times. Poland Poland lost 3-1 to Russia on Saturday. Bartosz Kurek scored a match-high 21 points. Poland have lost three of their last four World League matches, the exception being the 3-1 win over Argentina on 24 June. Three of Poland's last four losses at the World League came by a 3-0 score line. France France lost 3-2 to Argentina on Saturday, their second loss at the 2016 World League. In 2015 France only lost one World League match. In 2014 they lost three matches. Four of their last five losses came by a 3-2 score line. The other was the 3-1 defeat to United States in Antonin Rouzier scored 29 points in the match against Argentina, 10 more than any other player of both teams.

7 Pool E1: Australia - Italy (24 June) Australia have won only one of their 10 World League matches against Italy, the 3-0 on 12 June Seven of Italy's nine World League victories against Australia came in straight sets. This will be their second meeting this World League season. On 19 June, Italy beat Australia 3-0. Italy's Luca Vettori scored a match-high 16 points in that meeting, while Jordan Richards became Australia's top scorer with 15 points. Australia Australia have lost their opening three matches of the 2016 World Leauge, all in straight sets. Last World League season Australia lost their opening four matches, before beating forthcoming opponents Italy 3-0 in their fifth match. Australia can lose four consecutive World League matches all by a 3-0 scoreline for the second time after a run of six straight-set defeats in That run included four 3-0 losses against Italy. Australia have won only one of their last 10 World League matches, the 3-2 win over Serbia on 5 July Seven of Australia's last nine World League defeats came in straight sets. Italy Italy have won their last two World League matches, both in straight sets. They can win three consecutive World League matches all by a 3-0 scoreline for the first time since June All three of Italy's 2016 World league matches ended in straight sets: a loss to France and wins over Belgium and Australia. Only Brazil (161) have recorded more straight-set wins in World League history than Italy (130). Enrico Cester scored a match-high five block points against Australia.

8 Pool E1: Belgium - United States (24 June) Belgium and United States meet for the first time at the World League. The 2014 World Championships was the last major tournament where these teams played each other. United States won 3-2 in the First Round. Belgium Belgium won two of their three opening weekend matches of the 2016 World League, beating Australia (3-0) and France (3-2). They lost 3-0 to Italy. United States will be the second NORCECA team Belgium face at the World League. They have played four matches against Canada, winning two and losing two (all in 2014). Simon Van De Voorde scored a match-high five block points (eight attempts) in Belgium's match against France. United States United States lost 3-1 to Brazil in their last match of the opening weekend, ending a three-match winning streak. They last lost back-to-back World League matches in 2015, when Iran beat United States 3-0 on 19 and 21 June (in Tehran). All three of United States' World League matches in 2016 have ended with a 3-1 scoreline: wins over Argentina and Iran and a loss to Brazil. United States have won three of their last four World League matches against CEV teams, with their only defeat being the 3-2 loss to Serbia in the 2015 semifinal.

9 Pool E1: Italy - Belgium (25 June) Last weekend was the first time Italy and Belgium played each other at the World League. Italy won 3-0. Italy's Luca Vettori scored a match-high 17 points. No other Italian player reached double scoring points in this match. Italy Italy's all four matches in the 2016 World League have finished in straight sets: W3-L1. They can claim four successive straight-set wins for the first time this century. They last achieved this in 1999, when they beat Australia four matches in a row with a 3-0 scoreline. They can win four successive World League matches for the first time since a run of seven wins in Luca Vettori is Italy's highest scorer with 51 points Simone Giannelli has an 8.3 average as setter. Belgium Belgium have W-L-W-L their four matches in the 2016 World League and by that order they should win this match against Italy. The last time they suffered consecutive defeats was in their final three matches in the 2015 World League. Belgium's last two matches have been decided in a fifth set and they can now play three successive fivesetters for the first time in the World League. Gert Van Walle has scored 73 points. Simon Van De Voorde has contributed 13 stuff blocks.

10 Pool E1: United States - Australia (25 June) United States and Australia will meet for the second time at the World League. On 17 July 2014 the Americans won 3-1 in the Group Stage. These teams most recently met at a major tournament at the 2015 World Cup. United States beat Australia in straight sets. United States USA recovered from their 3-1 loss against Brazil by beating Belgium 3-2. They have yet to claim their first straight-sets win. The last 3-0 win was in their final match of the 2015 World League against Poland. USA have lost the opening set in each of their last three matches. Matthew Anderson has scored 73 points. Erik Shoji has 35 digs to his name and Taylor Sanders has 50 excellents as receiver. Australia Australia have yet to win a set in the 2016 World League. Their last win in the World League was the 3-2 victory against Serbia in Their next win will be their 10 th victory in the World League. Paul Carroll is Australia's top scorer with 45 points. Harrison Peacock (6.5 average) and Grigory Sukochev (6.3) are Australia's leading setters.

11 Pool E1: Australia - Belgium (26 June) Australia have lost all their five World League matches against Belgium. Australia have only managed to win a total of two sets in these five matches combined. Against no other team have Australia played so many World League matches without ever winning (four losses in four matches against Russia, Poland and Brazil). Five wins against a specific opponent are a record for Belgium, as they have also won five World League matches against Finland. This will be their second meeting this World League season. On 17 June, Belgium won 3-0, even though Australia's Paul Carroll scored a match-high 22 points in Sydney. Australia Australia are on a five-match losing streak at the World League. Their last win was the 3-2 victory over Serbia on 5 July in last year's Intercontinental Rounds. That win against Serbia was also their last win against a CEV team. They have lost four matches against CEV teams since, all in straight sets. Paul Carroll scored a match-high 20 points in their 3-1 loss to United States. Belgium Belgium can suffer three successive World League defeats for the first time since their final three matches in the 2015 World League. They have now lost three matches this World League season, one shy of their total from last season. Gert Van Walle has the most points of all Belgians this season (80), including the most spikes (68). Simon Van De Voorde has 14 stuff blocks, twice as many as the next most stuff blocks of all Belgians (Pieter Verhees, 7).

12 Pool E1: United States - Italy (26 June) United States can draw level with Italy in their World League head-to-head results. Currently they have met on 23 occasions, with Italy winning 12 times and United States 11 times. Their most recent meeting was in the 2014 Group Stage. Italy won in straight sets. United States had won their three World League matches versus Italy prior to that loss in Their most recent match-up at a major tournament was at the 2015 World Cup. United States won 3-0. United States United States beat Australia 3-1 on Saturday, with Matthew Anderson finishing as USA's top scorer (18 points). They are yet to win or lose a match in straight sets this World League season. Their last 3-0 at the World League was the straight sets win over Poland in last year's final for third place. United States have won four of their last five matches versus CEV teams, the exception being the 3-2 loss to Serbia in the 2015 semifinal. Italy Italy's all four matches in the 2016 World League have finished in straight sets: W4-L1. Italy can win five successive World League matches in straight sets for the first time since 1993, when they had a run of seven World League matches without losing a set. They can win five successive World League matches for the first time since a run of seven wins in Luca Vettori is Italy's highest scorer with 68 points.

13 Pool F1: Brazil - Serbia (23 June) Brazil have won 18 of their 22 World League matches against Serbia (incl. Serbia and Montenegro). Serbia's 18% winning percentage against Brazil is their lowest against any team in the World League. These teams met four times in last year's Intercontinental Rounds. Brazil won three times and Serbia won once. The last two matches between Brazil and Serbia ended in five-setters (both one win). The last time this World League fixture ended in a straight-set win for one of the teams was in the 2004 semifinals (12 matches since), when Brazil beat Serbia and Montenegro 3-0. The first six meetings between Brazil and Serbia at the World League all ended in straight sets (four wins Brazil, two wins Serbia). Brazil Brazil can win five World League matches in a row for the first time since Just like last year, Brazil can start their World League campaign with four consecutive wins. Brazil suffered their first defeat at the 2015 World League in match five against Serbia (3-2). They have only lost one set at the 2016 World League so far, against United States (25-19, 25-15, and 25-22). Wallace De Souza (18), Ricardo Lucarelli Santos De Souza (17) and Eder Carbonera (16) finished as Brazil's top scorers in their match against United States. Only Bulgaria's Tsvetan Sokolov (56) has scored more points in Group 1 of the 2016 World League than Ricardo Lucarelli Santos De Souza (52). Serbia Serbia could win their opening four World League matches of a season for the first time since They have won three consecutive World League matches by a 3-0 scoreline and can record four successive straight sets victories for the second time in team history, after 1997 (two 3-0 wins versus both China and Spain). Aleksandar Atanasijevic was top scorer in the match against Poland, scoring all his 16 points from spikes.

14 Pool F1: Iran - Bulgaria (23 June) Iran and Bulgaria will meet for the first time at the World League. These teams last met at a major tournament at the 2006 World Championships. Bulgaria beat Iran 3-0 in the first group stage. Bulgaria also beat Iran 3-0 in the group stage of the 1970 World Championships. Iran Iran started their 2016 World League campaign with losses against Brazil (3-0) and United States (3-1), but won their last match of the opening weekend as they beat Argentina 3-2. They are looking to claim back-to-back victories at the World League for the first time since a streak of five wins in Iran have won their last two World League matches that went to five sets. Iran have won four of their last six World League matches against CEV teams, but lost their most recent one against Russia (3-1) in Bulgaria Bulgaria have started their World League season with three defeats for the third time, after 2005 and In 2005 Bulgaria won their fourth match, while in 2014 they lost their first seven. Bulgaria have won 31 of their 33 World League matches against AVC teams. Their only two defeats came against Japan, both in In their last match against Russia (3-1 defeat), Tsvetan Sokolov scored a team-high 21 points for Bulgaria. Viktor Yosifov was Bulgaria's second-highest scorer, with 10 points.

15 Pool F1: Brazil - Iran (24 June) Brazil and Iran are in perfect balance at the World League: three wins each. Iran is the only team to not have a losing record against Brazil in the competition. Italy and Cuba come closes to this feat, as they both have a 52% losing percentage against Brazil. This will be their second World League meeting in On 16 June Brazil won 3-0. Brazil can now beat Iran in consecutive World League meetings for the first time in team history. In their first meetings this season Brazil's Lucas Saatkamp claimed top scorer honours, winning 17 points. Shahram Mahmoudi was top scorer for Iran, with 12 points. Brazil Brazil won their first three matches in the 2016 World League but their they were defeated in their last against Serbia (3-1). Since the start of the 2015 World League, Brazil lost only once two World League matches in a row when both Italy and France proved too strong. Ricardo Lucarelli Santos De Souza scored a team-high 70 points. He became top scorer in two matches (against Argentina and Serbia) and became the second top scorer of the team against Iran and United States. Iran Iran won their last two World League matches against Bulgaria (3-1) and Argentina (3-2) after starting this campaign with two defeats against United States (3-1) and Brazil (3-0). Iran can win three in a row for the first time in the 2016 World League. They had a streak of at least three consecutive wins in each of their World League campaigns. Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad is Iran's top scorer in the 2016 World League. He scored a total 41 points including a match-high 21 against Bulgaria.

16 Pool F1: Serbia - Bulgaria (24 June) Serbia have won all five World League matches against Bulgaria since the end of the state union with Montenegro. Including their appearances as Serbia and Montenegro their head-to-head record with Bulgaria reads eight wins and four defeats. Bulgaria last beat Serbia on 24 August 2006: 3-0. Six of their last seven meetings at the World League ended in 3-0. The only exception was Serbia's 3-2 win on 8 June This will be the second meeting between Serbia and Bulgaria this season. On 18 June Serbia won 3-0, although Bulgaria's Tsvetan Sokolov finished the match as top scorer (20 points). Serbia Serbia won all four matches in the 2016 World League. Only against Brazil they have lost one set. Serbia are the only team to remain unbeaten in Group 1. Only in 2010 Serbia won their first five World League matches. They eventually finished third in that campaign. Last year, when they came second in the final ranking of the World League after losing the final against France, Serbia won only two of their first five World League matches. Srecko Lisinac scored a team-high 60 points in the 2016 World League. Bulgaria Bulgaria are still looking for their first win in the 2016 World League. Bulgaria can lose five consecutive World League matches for the first time since when they also lost five (four in 2014 and the opener in 2015). Bulgaria lost twice by 3-1 and twice in straight sets this tournament. In both 3-1 losses they claimed the first set. Bulgaria's most experienced player Tsvetan Sokolov (75) has scored more than twice as much points as any of his teammates as Viktor Yosifov follows with 30.

17 Pool F1: Bulgaria - Brazil (25 June) Bulgaria have won three of 21 World League matches against Brazil. Currently Bulgaria are on a seven-match losing streak against Brazil. They can equal their record losing streak against them, as they lost their first eight World League meetings with Brazil ( ). Bulgaria last beat Brazil on 11 July 2007, 3-2 in the Group Stage. Their last World League meeting was the 2013 semifinal. Brazil won 3-1 but lost the final to Russia (3-0), while Bulgaria lost the third-place final to Italy (3-2). Bulgaria Bulgaria have lost their first five matches of the 2016 World League. Last year they had won four of their first five matches. Bulgaria have lost all seven matches at major tournaments in 2016, since winning their first match 3-1 against Finland in January. Tsvetan Sokolov has scored 75 points in the 2016 World League, including 69 spikes. Victor Yosifov has 12 stuff blocks. Brazil Brazil have won four of their five World League matches in 2016, the same record as they had after five matches in They also won their sixth match last year. Brazil have won the opening set in each of their last 12 World League matches. Ricardo Lucarelli Santos De Souza has scored 85 points, including 12 aces. Wallace De Souza has contributed 68 points, including eight blocks.

18 Pool F1: Iran - Serbia (25 June) Iran and Serbia have met twice at the World League with each team winning once. On 21 June 2013, Serbia beat Iran 3-2. Two days later, on 23 June, Iran beat Serbia 3-2. The last major championship where these teams met was the 2014 World Championship. Iran beat Serbia 3-1 in the Second Round. Iran Iran have lost three and won two matches in the 2016 World League. Two of these defeats were against Brazil. They have now lost four and won eight of their matches at major tournaments in Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad has 60 points and his teammates Shahram Mahmoudi (55) and Seyed Mohammad Mousavi Eraghi (50) are not far behind him. Seyed Mohammad Mousavi Eraghi has 13 stuff blocks. Mahdi Marandi has 52 excellents as receiver. Serbia Serbia can make it six wins in six matches in the 2016 World League. In 2015 they lost four of their first six matches. In all major tournaments Bulgaria have now won six matches in a row, their longest winning streak since 10 in Their next defeat will be their 50 th loss in the World League. They have won 78 matches. Srecko Lisinac has scored 60 points, including 10 stuff blocks and nine aces.