Dutch women finish Saturday afternoon session against South American Cup winners

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 5, 2016 - #6 seed Madelein Meppelink/Marleen Van Iersel of the Netherlands finish off the afternoon session against #19 seed Norisbeth Agudo/Olaya Pazo of Venezuela in the second Pool F match.  Both Madelein and Marleen finished 9th in London with different partners Sophie van Gestel and Sanne Keizer, respectively and will be hoping to advance further while Norisbeth and Olaya are the first team from Venezuela to compete in the Olympic Games for beach volleyball.

The two teams have never met in FIVB World Tour competition.  

Historically the #6 seed has swept all four previous meetings in the Olympic Games; however in the last two Olympics, the #19 forced a third set after winning the opening game.  In Beijing, Brazil's Talita Antunes/Renata Ribeiro recovered from an 18-21 loss to win the next two games 21-16 and 15-8 in 49 minutes over Mexico's Bibiana Candelas/Mayra Garcia.  In London, Great Britain's Zara Dampney/Shauna Mullin defeated Canada's Marie-Andree Lessard/Annie Martin, 17-21, 21-14, and 15-13 in 53 minutes.

• Madelein: November 29, 1989 (26y8m8d), 183 cm (6'0"), 73 kg (162 lbs.), Hometown Rhenen, 77th FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $363,537 career winnings (ranks 44th)

• Marleen: January 7, 1988 (28y6m30d), 178 cm (5'10"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Breda, 106th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 48th), two gold medals, $514,587 career winnings (ranks 21st)

• Madelein and Marleen have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 31st FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, $467,375 career winnings (ranks 26th).

• Madelein has played in 14 FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, five silver, four bronze medals and four 4th place finishes.

• Marleen has played in 22 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, five silver, seven bronze medals and eight 4th place finishes.

• Madelein and Marleen have played in seven Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Lucerne Open 2015, Silver Moscow Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Stavanger Major 2015, Silver Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Rio de Janeiro Open 2015, Silver Maceió Open 2016, 4th Gstaad Major 2016).

• Madelein finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Sophie van Gestel in 2012 (London).

• Marleen finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Sanne Keizer in 2012 (London).

• Madelein and Marleen finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).

• Madelein finished 37th in the FIVB World Championships with Marloes Wesselink in 2011 (Rome) and 17th with Sophie van Gestel in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).

• Marleen finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2009 (Stavanger), 9th in 2011 (Rome), and 9th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki), all with Sanne Keizer.

• Madelein and Marleen are currently ranked 14th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 3,230 points and 10th in winnings with $98,375.

• Madelein and Marleen have a career 110-54 (67.1%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 69-35 (66.3%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.

• Madelein and Marleen won the gold medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championship in 2014 (Cagliari, Italy).

• Madelein won a bronze medal on the CEV Continental Tour with Marloes Wesselink in 2011 (Niechorze, Poland).

• Marleen won the silver medal at the U19 World Championships with Danielle Remmers in 2006 (Bermuda, Bermuda).

• Marleen won bronze medals at the U21 World Championships with Marloes Wesselink in 2006 (Myslowice, Poland) and 2007 (Modena, Italy).

• Marleen won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Danielle Remmers in 2008 (Brighton, England).

• Marleen won the gold medal at the CEV Continental Championships with Sanne Keizer in 2012 (The Hague, Netherlands) and one other bronze medal on the CEV Continental Tour with Marloes Wesslink in 2007 (The Hague, Netherlands).

• Marleen was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2009, Best Server in 2010, and Best Setter in 2015.

• 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 23-39 (37.1%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 19-33 (36.5%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.

• 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.