Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016 - Canada's #5 seed Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan make their Olympic Games debut to start the afternoon session of day two against the #20 seed Jantine van der Vlist/Sophie van Gestel of the Netherlands. Van Gestal is the only one of the four players with any previous Olympics experience, finishing ninth with Madelein Meppelink in 2012 (London).
Head to Head
The two teams have never met in FIVB World Tour competition
Historically the #5 seed has won all four meetings over the #20 seed in the Olympic Games, all in the opening round, and all in straight sets. The closest match was in Beijing where Rebekka Kadijk/Merel Mooren of the Netherlands pushed Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs of the United States to overtime in the second set, won by the Americans 21-19 and 27-25 in 51 minutes.
Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan, Canada, Seed #5, Pool E, Qualified 5th with 6,150 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Heather: September 13, 1987 (28y10m24d), 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 (29y11m21d), 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 107-74 (59.1%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 71-34 (67.6%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• 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.
Jantine van der Vlist/Sophie van Gestel, Netherlands, Seed #20, Pool E, Qualified through European Confederation (CEV) Continental Cup
• Jantine: October 30, 1985 (30y9m7d), 183 cm (6'0"), 73 kg (162 lbs.), Hometown Wageningen, 77th FIVB World Tour event, $102,300 career winnings
• Sophie: June 29, 1991 (25y1m8d), 180 cm (5'11"), 67 kg (149 lbs.), Hometown Oostelbeers, 48th FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $135,925 career winnings
• Jantine and Sophie have been playing together since 2015. They are playing in their 17th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, $67,600 career winnings.
• Jantine has played in four FIVB World Tour final fours with four 4th place finishes.
• Sophie has played in seven FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold medal, one silver medal and five 4th place finishes.
• Jantine and Sophie have played in three Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, 4th Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16, 4th Cincinnati Open 2016).
• Sophie finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Madelein Meppelink in 2012 (London).
• Jantine and Sophie finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Jantine finished 37th in the FIVB World Championships with Roos Van der Hoeven in 2011 (Rome) and 33rd with Marloes Wesselink in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Sophie finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Madelein Meppelink in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Jantine and Sophie are currently ranked 33rd in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 2,200 points and 34th in winnings with $32,600.
• Jantine and Sophie have a career 33-38 (46.5%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events, all in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Sophie won the silver medal at the U19 World Championships with Rimke Braakman in 2008 (The Hague, Netherlands).
• Sophie won the silver medal at the U21 World Championships with Michelle Stiekema in 2008 (Brighton, England) and the bronze medal with Rimke Braakman in 2011 (Halifax, Canada).
• Sophie was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2012.