Costa Rica and Venezuela looking for first win in pool F

Rio de Janeiro, August 10, 2016 - Natalia Alfaro/Karen Charles of Costa Rica and Venezuela's Norisbeth Agudo/Olaya Pazo are both looking for their first win in pool F.  The loser of this match will go home with a 19th-place finish, while the winner will have to wait to see if they advance to the elimination round on a tie-breaker or have to play in one of the two "lucky loser" matches on Thursday night.

The two teams have not met in FIVB World Tour competition.

Historically the #18 seed has won all four matches against the #19 seed in the Olympic Games.

• Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova (18), Russia def. Marie-Andree Lessard/Annie Martin (19), Canada, 21-18, 28-30, 15-13 in 69 minutes, Pool Play, London (2012).

• Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger (18), Austria def. Bibiana Candelas/Mayra Garcia (19), Mexico, 21-17, 21-10 in 34 minutes, Pool Play, Beijing (2008).

• Summer Lochowicz/Kerri Pottharst (18), Australia def. Hilda Gaxiola/Mayra Garcia (19), Mexico, 26-24, 22-20 in 50 minutes, Pool Play, Athens (2004).

• Daniela Gattelli/Lucilla Perrotta (18), Italy def. Yuki Ishizaka/Rii Seike (19), Japan, 15-5 in 44 minutes, Contender's Bracket Round 2, Sydney (2000).

• Natalia: April 8, 1987 (29y3m29d), 165 cm (5'5"), 59 kg (131 lbs.), Hometown Heredia, 8th FIVB World Tour event, $2,500 career winnings

• Karen: November 6, 1985 (30y9m0d), 173 cm (5'8"), 60 kg (133 lbs.), Hometown San Jose, 7th FIVB World Tour event, $2,500 career winnings

• Natalia and Karen have been playing together since 2015. They are playing in their 7th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together with $5,000 in career winnings.  They are the second-least experienced women's team competing in the Rio Olympics, ahead of Elghobashy/Meawad of Egypt with no previous events.

• Neither Natalia nor Karen have played in an FIVB World Tour final four.  Their best finishes are a pair of 25ths in the Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16 and the Cincinnati Open 2016.

• Natalia and Karen finished 37th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).

• Natalia and Karen are currently ranked 72nd in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 370 points and 83rd in winnings with $1,600.

• Natalia and Karen have a career 2-13 (13.3%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events, all in 2015-16.

• Natalia and Karen won three silver medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour in 2014 (Guatemala City, Guatemala), 2015 (Pigeon Point, Saint Lucia), and 2016 (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands).

• Natalia and Karen won two bronze medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour in 2015 (Varadero, Cuba) and (Tavares, United States).

• Natalia won five silver medals and six bronze medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour with Ingrid Morales from 2008-12.

• Natalia and Karen are the first team from Costa Rica to compete in the Olympic Games for beach volleyball.

• Natalia is the shortest women's player competing in the Rio Olympics at 165 cm (5'5").  She is tied with four other players as the second shortest in all six Olympic Games, behind Mexico's Teresa Galindo (162 cm) who played in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

• Natalia and Karen teamed with Marcela Araya/Valeria Valenciano to win the NORCECA Continental Cup at the end of June in Guaymas, Mexico.  After posting back-to-back wins over Jamaica (3-0) and Cuba (3-2 with a 15-9 gold set win), the Costa Rican teams were victorious over Mexico 3-1.  They won five of their six matches in the competition highlighted by the golden set win against Cuba and two match successes against Mexico.

• Lost to Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy, Australia (7), 15-21 and 14-21 in 40 minutes.

• Lost to Madelein Meppelink/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands (6), 16-21 and 16-21 in 36 minutes.

• Norisbeth: May 22, 1992 (24y2m15d), 169 cm (5'7"), 53 kg (118 lbs.), Hometown Carabobo, 24th FIVB World Tour event, $13,387 career winnings

• Olaya: June 7, 1983 (33y1m30d), 180 cm (5'11"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Caracas, 31st FIVB World Tour event, $12,787 career winnings

• Norisbeth and Olaya have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 20th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, $24,775 career winnings.

• Norisbeth and Olaya finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).

• Norisbeth and Olaya are currently ranked 47th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 940 points and 60th in winnings with $5,600.

• Norisbeth and Olaya have a career 23-41 (35.9%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 19-35 (35.2%) record in 2015-16.

• Norisbeth and Olaya won a gold medal in the CSV Continental Championships in 2016 (Cochabamba, Bolivia).

• Norisbeth and Olaya won one gold, three silvers, and four bronze medals on the CSV Continental Tour in 2014-16.

• Norisbeth and Gabriela Brito won one silver medal and one bronze medal on the CSV Continental Tour in 2014-15.

• Olaya won the bronze medal in the CSV Continental Championships with Rebeca Pazo in 2015 (Argentina).

• Norisbeth and Olaya are the first team from Venezuela to compete in the Olympic Games for beach volleyball.

• Norisbeth is the lightest player competing in the Rio Olympics at 53 kg (118 lbs.).  She ranks second behind Mexico's Teresa Galindo at 52 kg (115 lbs.) who played in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

• Norisbeth and Olaya played with different partners in the South American Continental Cup competition in Rosario, Argentina.  Team Venezuela went undefeated in five matches with Olaya playing with her twin sister Rebeca and Norisbeth paired with Gabriela (Gabi) Brito.   With team victories over Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Argentina, the Venezuela women won 16 of 20 matches in Rosario with each team posting 8-2 records. 

• Lost to Madelein Meppelink/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands (6), 17-21 and 11-21 in 33 minutes

• Lost to Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy, Australia (7), 9-21 and 14-21 in 29 minutes.