Rio de Janeiro, August 11, 2016 - Canada's Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan are looking to stay unbeaten in pool E against Karla Borger/Britta Buthe of Germany in the last pool play match of the Rio Olympics. A win by Canada moves them into the elimination stage while a victory by Germany could set up a two-way or three-way tie for 1st place if Switzerland beats the Netherlands in the other pool play match. A loss by Canada sends them into a tie with Germany, and a possible three-way tie if Switzerland wins.
Head to Head
Bansley/Pavan and Borger/Buthe have split the four meetings on the FIVB World Tour. The teams have not played each other since July, 2015.
• Bansley/Pavan won 21-13, 19-21, and 15-13 in 59 minutes, FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2015, Round of 24, 07/01/2015
• Borger/Buthe won 21-18 and 21-12 in 38 minutes, St. Petersburg Grand Slam, Pool Play, 06/19/2015
• Bansley/Pavan won 16-21, 21-14, and 15-13 in 49 minutes, Klagenfurt Grand Slam, Pool Play, 07/30/2014
• Borger/Buthe won 21-15 and 21-15 in 35 minutes, Corrientes Grand Slam, Round of 16, 05/24/2013
Historically the #5 seed has won three of the four matches against the #8 seed in the Olympic Games
• Maria Antonelli/Talita Antunes (5), Brazil def. Sara Niedrig/Laura Ludwig (8), Germany, 21-19, 29-31, 15-13 in 65 minutes, Pool Play, London (2012).
• Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs (5), United States def. Stephanie Pohl/Okka Rau (8), Germany, 21-17, 21-16 in 46 minutes, Pool Play, Beijing (2008).
• Stephanie Pohl/Okka Rau (8), Germany def. Natalie Cook/Nicole Sanderson (5), Australia, 21-10, 22-20 in 41 minutes, Pool Play, Athens (2004).
• Monica Rodrigues/Adriana Samuel (5), Brazil def. Sachiko Fujita/Yukiko Takahashi (8), Japan, 15-6 in 45 minutes, Contender's Bracket Round 5, Atlanta (1996).
Heather Bansley/Sarah Pavan, Canada, Seed #5, Pool E, 2-0, MAX Set Ratio, 1.2353 Point Ratio, 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 109-74 (59.6%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 73-34 (68.2%) record in 2015-16.
• 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.
• Defeated Sophie van Gestel/Jantine van der Vlist, Netherlands (20), 21-15 and 21-17 in 39 minutes.
• Defeated Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland (17), 21-18 and 21-18 in 45 minutes.
Karla Borger/Britta Buthe, Germany, Seed #8, Pool E, 1-1, 1.000 Set Ratio, 0.9333 Point Ratio, Qualified 9th with 5,260 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Karla: November 22, 1988 (27y8m15d), 180 cm (5'11"), 68 kg (151 lbs.), Hometown Heppenheim, 73rd FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $302,450 career winnings (ranks 54th)
• Britta: May 25, 1988 (28y2m12d), 185 cm (6'1"), 78 kg (173 lbs.), Hometown Dearborn, 65th FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $296,900 career winnings (ranks 56th)
• Karla and Britta have been playing together since 2010. They are playing in their 64th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 30th), one gold medal, $593,800 career winnings (ranks 18th). They rank second behind Spain's Baquerizo/Fernandez (97) in FIVB World Tour events played together amongst the teams competing in the Rio Olympics.
• Karla has played in eight FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, two silver, three bronze medals and two 4th place finishes.
• Britta has played in eight FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, two silver, three bronze medals and two 4th place finishes.
• Karla and Britta have played in four Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Gold Lucerne Open 2015, 4th St. Petersburg Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016, Bronze Porec Major 2016).
• Karla and Britta won the silver medal in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and finished 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Karla and Britta are currently ranked 4th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,700 points and 5th in winnings with $138,875.
• Karla and Britta have a career 196-106 (64.9%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 76-30 (71.7%) record in 2015-16.
• Karla and Britta won the bronze medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Britta won the bronze medal at the U19 World Championships with Svenja Engelhardt in 2006 (Bermuda, Bermuda).
• Karla was named the FIVB World Tour Best Server in 2014.
• Britta was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2011.
• Britta is the heaviest women's player competing in the Rio Olympics at 78 kg (173 lbs.). She is tied for seventh heaviest all-time behind Czech Republic's Eva Celbova Rysava (2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens), Australia's Liane Fenwick (1996 Atlanta), Belgium's Liesbeth Mouha (2008 Beijing), and Mexico's Bibiana Candelas (2008 Beijing), at 80 kg (178 lbs.).
• Lost to Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland (17), 12-21 and 16-21 in 38 minutes.
• Defeated Jantine van der Vlist/Sophie van Gestel, Netherlands (20), 21-19 and 21-14 in 35 minutes.