Nagoya, Japan, October 11, 2018 - The Netherlands are seeking to claim their spot in the final six by taking a set off Serbia which are also hoping to rebound from their previous loss in the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.
Head-to-Head
• Serbia (incl. predecessors) won both previous World Championship meetings with Netherlands: 3-1 in 1978 (as Yugoslavia) and 3-0 in 2014.
• This is the sixth meeting between the teams at major world level. Serbia won the first three (1978, 2013, 2014) and Netherlands the last two (2016, 2018).
• Netherlands' two world level victories against Serbia both came in five sets, at the 2016 Olympic Games and at the 2018 Nations League.
• The women's world level major competitions are: the Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix, Grand Champions Cup and the Nations League.
• This is a repeat of the 2017 European Championship final. Serbia won their second title in the competition after a 3-1 win in that final.
Netherlands• Netherlands are coming off their first defeat of the tournament, 3-2 against Brazil. They started out their campaign with seven straight victories.
• Netherlands will reach the final six if they claim at least one set against Serbia. Also, if Japan take a set off Brazil, the Dutch will go through regardless of the outcome of their own match.
• A final six appearance would guarantee Netherlands' best ever finish at a World Championship. Their best showing is a seventh place in 1998.
• Lonneke Slöetjes leads her team with 151 points scored in the tournament. Of those 151 points, 129 came off spikes.
Serbia• Serbia are already certain of reaching the last six. Their best performance in the competition is a third place finish in 2006 (as Serbia and Montenegro).
• Serbia are coming off their first defeat of the tournament, 3-1 against hosts Japan. Serbia had started their campaign with seven straight 3-0 wins.
• Serbia's defeat against Japan ended a seven-match winning streak at the World Championship, which is equal to the mark they set in 2006 (as Serbia and Montenegro).
• Tijana Boškovic (80 points from spikes) has a 56.7% success rate in spikes and is the tournament's leading spiker.