Kobe, Japan, September 30, 2018 - Korea and Azerbaijan are having their first ever clash in the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship and these two sides are seeking for their first win in the current edition.
Head-to-head
• These teams have never met in a major encounter at world level.
• World level major competitions are: Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix, Grand Champions Cup and Nations League.
• Azerbaijan have won two of seven major encounters with AVC opposition. They defeated Thailand 3-2 at the 2006 World Grand Prix and edged Japan 3-2 at the 2014 World Championship.
Azerbaijan• Azerbaijan opened their 2018 World Championship with a match against reigning champions United States, losing 3-0.
• Azerbaijan could lose their first two matches of a single World Championship for the second time, after 2006 (v China and Russia).
• Azerbaijan have now lost back-to-back World Championship matches. They have had one longer losing streak in the tournament: four matches in 1994-2006 (the last two matches of 1994 followed by the first two of 2006).
• Polina Rahimova scored 23 points to become outright top scorer in Azerbaijan's match against United States.
Republic of Korea
• Republic of Korea started their 2018 World Championship with a five-set defeat against Thailand, despite outscoring their opponents 102-96.
• Republic of Korea have now lost three straight World Championship matches. They could lose four matches in a row for the second time, after five straight in 1986.
• Republic of Korea have now lost five of their last six five-setters at World Championships (2002-2018), with a win against Turkey in 2010 the only exception. They had won their first five five-setters at the World Championship.
• Kim Yeon Koung led her team in scoring against Thailand on Saturday with 23 total points.