Rio de Janeiro, August 14, 2016 - Canada's Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan will battle Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst of Germany in a quarterfinal match-up of two teams who are unbeaten in the Rio Olympics. The Canadians lead the head-to-head by four wins to one dating back to 2013, with the sole victory in 2016, just one month ago. The winner will advance to the semi-finals, and the loser will be eliminated with a 5th-place finish.
Head to Head
Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan have won four of the five meetings in FIVB World Tour competition, including the only win in 2016
• Bansley/Pavan won 21-17 and 21-15 in 41 minutes, Porec Major, Semi-finals, 07/02/2016
• Bansley/Pavan won 18-21, 21-16, and 15-8 in 48 minutes, Yokohama Grand Slam, Pool Play, 07/24/2015
• Bansley/Pavan won 17-21, 21-14, and 15-12 in 51 minutes, Porec Major Series, Round of 24, 06/04/2015
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-11 and 21-8 in 25 minutes, Prague Open, Quarterfinals, 05/24/2014
• Bansley/Pavan won 21-16 and 21-17 in 34 minutes, Berlin Grand Slam, Pool Play, 08/08/2013
Historically the #4 seed and the #5 seed have split the four meetings in the Olympic Games, with the higher seed winning the last two including the Athens bronze medal match.
• Chen Xue/Xi Zhang (4), China def. Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs (5), United States, 21-17, 21-13 in 40 minutes, Quarterfinals, Beijing (2008).
• Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs (4), United States def. Natalie Cook/Nicole Sanderson (5), Australia, 21-18, 15-21, 15-9 in 71 minutes, Bronze Medal, Athens (2004).
• Sandra Pires/Adriana Samuel (5), Brazil def. Misty May-Treanor/Holly McPeak (4), United States, 16-14 in 49 minutes, Quarterfinals, Sydney (2000).
• Monica Rodrigues/Adriana Samuel (5), Brazil def. Barbra Fontana/Linda Hanley (4), United States, 15-10 in 55 minutes, Winner's Bracket Round 3, Atlanta (1996).
Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan, Canada, Seed #5, Pool E, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 5th with 6,150 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Heather: September 13, 1987 (28y11m1d), 170 cm (5'7"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown London, 68th FIVB World Tour event, $273,375 career winnings (ranks 60th)
• Sarah: August 16, 1986 (29y11m29d), 196 cm (6'5"), 75 kg (167 lbs.), Hometown Kitchener, 38th FIVB World Tour event, $228,225 career winnings (ranks 74th)
• Heather and Sarah have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 38th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 88th), $456,450 career winnings (ranks 29th).
• Heather has played in seven FIVB World Tour final fours with three silver medals, three bronze medals and one 4th place finish.
• Sarah has played in seven FIVB World Tour final fours with three silver medals, three bronze medals and one 4th place finish.
• Heather and Sarah have played in seven Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Prague Open 2015, Silver Porec Major 2015, Bronze Gstaad Major 2015, Bronze Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, 4th World Tour Finals 2015, Bronze Moscow Grand Slam 2016, Silver Porec Major Series 2016).
• Heather and Sarah finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 5th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Heather finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Elizabeth Maloney in 2011 (Rome).
• Heather and Sarah are currently ranked 16th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 3,160 points and 6th in winnings with $127,000.
• Heather and Sarah have a career 111-74 (60.0%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 75-34 (68.8%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 62-34 (64.6%) in two sets and 47-37 (56.0%) in three sets, including 81-20 (80.2%) when winning the 1st set and 28-51 (35.4%) when losing the 1st set.
• Heather won gold medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour in 2010 (Boqueron, Puerto Rico) and 2011 (Guatemala City, Guatemala) along with one more silver and bronze medal, all with Elizabeth Maloney.
• Heather was named the FIVB World Tour Best Defensive Player in 2015.
• Sarah was named the FIVB World Tour Best Blocker in 2015.
• Sarah is the tallest women's player competing in the Rio Olympics at 196 cm (6'5"). She is tied for all-time tallest with Bibiana Candelas of Mexico who played in the 2008 Olympic Games.
• Sarah (196 cm) and Heather (170 cm) have the biggest height difference at 26 cm (10") of any women's team in any of the six Olympic Games.
• Sarah has also made her mark in the United States as one of only four players to be named a four-time college All-American during her career at Nebraska.
• Pool E: Defeated Jantine van der Vlist/Sophie van Gestel, Netherlands (20), 21-15 and 21-17 in 39 minutes.
• Pool E: Defeated Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland (17), 21-18 and 21-18 in 45 minutes.
• Pool E: Defeated Karla Borger/Britta Buthe, Germany (8), 21-19 and 21-15 in 39 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Jamie Broder/Kristina Valjas, Canada (16), 21-16 and 21-11 in 36 minutes.
Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst, Germany, Seed #4, Pool D, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 4th with 6,500 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Laura: January 13, 1986 (30y7m1d), 181 cm (5'11"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Berlin, 130th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 19th), seven gold medals, $800,137 career winnings (ranks 11th)
• Kira: November 18, 1990 (25y8m27d), 184 cm (6'0"), 75 kg (167 lbs.), Hometown Essen, 43rd FIVB World Tour event, seven gold medals, $370,187 career winnings (ranks 43rd)
• Laura and Kira have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 37th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 86th), seven gold medals (ranks 10th), $721,275 career winnings (ranks 12th).
• Laura has played in 33 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, 11 silver, nine bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Kira has played in 17 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, three silver, four bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Laura and Kira have played in 11 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Stavanger Major 2015, Gold Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Silver World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16, Gold Antalya Open 2016, Gold Hamburg Major 2016, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, 4th Porec Major 2016, Bronze Gstaad Major 2016, Gold Klagenfurt Major 2016).
• Laura finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing) and 5th in 2012 (London), both with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Laura finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2005 (Berlin), 17th in 2007 (Gstaad), 9th in 2009 (Stavanger), and 9th in 2011 (Rome), all with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira are currently ranked 1st in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 5,980 points and 1st in winnings with $282,375.
• Laura and Kira have a career 156-54 (74.3%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 97-28 (77.6%) record in 2015-16. Excluding forfeits, they are 115-29 (79.9%) in two sets and 39-21 (65.0%) in three sets, including 138-12 (92.0%) when winning the 1st set and 16-38 (29.6%) when losing the 1st set.
• Laura and Kira won bronze medals at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2013 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2014 (Cagliari, Italy), and gold medals in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Laura won the gold medal at the CEV Continental Championships with Sara Goller Niedrig in 2008 (Hamburg, Germany) and 2010 (Berlin, Germany).
• Laura ranks 3rd with eight gold medals on the CEV Continental Tour behind Greece's Vasso Karadassiou (10) and Vasiliki Arvaniti (9).
• Laura won the gold medal at the U18 World Championships with Jana Kohler in 2003 (Pattaya, Thailand).
• Laura was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2007, Best Offensive Player in 2011, Best Defensive Player in 2013, Most Inspirational in 2013, and Sportsperson in 2015.
• Kira was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2013 and Top Rookie in 2013.
• Pool D: Defeated Doaa Elghobashy /Nada Meawad, Egypt (21), 21-12 and 21-15 in 34 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Jamie Broder/Kristina Valjas, Canada (16), 21-17 and 21-11 in 32 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Laura Giombini/Marta Menegatti, Italy (9), 21-18, 18-21, and 15-9 in 51 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre, Switzerland (10), 21-19 and 21-10 in 36 minutes.