Sydney, Australia, June 17, 2016 – Australia will be hoping to repeat their heroics of the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World League Group 2 Finals when they face France on Saturday.
Head-to-Head
· The only previous World League meeting was in the Final of Group 2 in 2014, when Australia won 3-2 at home in Sydney, to gain a spot in the Final Round of Group 1, where they lost their two group matches.
· That was also their only previous meeting in Australia in a competitive match.
· France have beaten all teams they opposed in the World League at least once, with the exception of Australia (L1).
· Their last meeting came at the 2016 World Olympic Qualification tournament on 1 June when France beat Australia 3-1, including a score of 44-42 in the fourth set. Paul Carroll scored 34 points for Australia in that match.
Australia
· Australia lost their opener against Belgium on Friday in straight sets: 29-27, 25-18, 25-22.
· Australia have started their previous three World League campaigns with at least two defeats.
· Five of Australia’s nine World League victories came in five-setters, including the one against France. They lost only two matches in five sets.
· Paul Carroll was the most prolific scorer in the match against Belgium. He scored 22 of Australia’s 67 total points.
France
· France started with a win against Italy (3-0). France have now started their last three World League campaigns with a victory.
· Since their defeat in Sydney against Australia in 2014, France have won 18 of their last 19 World League matches, including 12 in straight sets. The only team that beat them in this span was United States in 17 July 2015 (3-1).
· Kevin Tillie and Nicolas Marechal were France’s top scorers against Italy with 13 points each.