Rio de Janeiro, August 9, 2016 - Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst of the Netherlands will look to continue their winning ways against Poland's Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel, who are looking for their first win in pool E.
Head to Head
Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst have won three of the four meetings between the two teams on the FIVB World Tour. The Dutch won the first two matches in the series, a three-set pool play win at the Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam in March and a three-set round of 16 win at the Moscow Grand Slam in May. The Poles won in three sets in pool play at the Hamburg Major in June and the Dutch won the final meeting in a round of 24 match in Gstaad in July.
Historically the #5 seed has won two of the three pool play meetings against the #17 seed and four of five overall in the Olympic Games. The lower seed pulled a straight-set upset in pool play in London (2012), but the #5 seed got revenge in a bronze-medal rematch in three sets. The higher seed won the pool play matches in three sets in both Beijing (2008) and Athens (2004) and also won the bronze medal rematch in 2004 in three sets.
Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst, Netherlands, Seed #5, Pool E, 1-0, MAX Set Ratio, 1.4483 Point Ratio Qualified 5th with 5,960 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Reinder: September 10, 1976 (39y10m27d), 194 cm (6'4"), 87 kg (193 lbs.), Hometown IJsselmuiden, 101st FIVB World Tour event (ranks 69th), 12 gold medals (ranks 13th), $643,687 career winnings (ranks 19th)
• Christiaan: May 6, 1990 (26y3m0d), 212 cm (6'11-1/2"), 106 kg (235 lbs.), Hometown Valthermond, 63rd FIVB World Tour event, three gold medals, $299,262 career winnings (ranks 68th)
• Reinder and Christiaan have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 23rd FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, three gold medals, $388,125 career winnings (ranks 48th).
• Reinder has played in 27 FIVB World Tour final fours with 12 gold, seven silver, two bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Christiaan has played in eight FIVB World Tour final fours with three gold, two silver, one bronze medal and two 4th place finishes.
• Reinder and Christiaan have played in four Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Porec Major 2015, Silver St. Petersburg Grand Slam 2015, Silver World Championships 2015, Gold Moscow Grand Slam 2016).
• Reinder finished 5th in the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing) and 4th in 2012 (London), both with Richard Schuil.
• Reinder and Christiaan won the silver medal in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Reinder finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2007 (Gstaad) 17th in 2009 (Stavanger) 17th in 2011 (Rome) and 17th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki), all with Richard Schuil.
• Christiaan finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Daan Spijkers in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Reinder and Christiaan are currently ranked 17th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 3,380 points and 10th in winnings with $120,125.
• Reinder and Christiaan have a career 83-39 (68.0%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 67-36 (65.0%) record in 2015-16.
• Reinder and Christiaan won the bronze medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and one other gold medal on the CEV Continental Tour in 2014.
• Reinder won the gold medal at the CEV Continental Championships in 2008 (Hamburg, Germany), 2009 (Sochi, Russia) and 2010 (Berlin, Germany) along with four other gold medals, three silver medals and four bronze medals on the CEV Continenal Tour from 2006-11, all with Richard Schuill and one bronze medal with Jon Stiekema in 2011.
• Reinder is tied with Switzerland's Martin Laciga and Germany's Julius Brink for the most CEV Continental Tour gold medals with eight.
• Christiaan won the silver medal at the U21 World Championships with Alexander Brouwer in 2008 (Brighton, England).
• Reinder was named the FIVB World Tour Best Defensive Player in 2009 and 2011.
• Christiaan was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2012 and Best Hitter in 2015.
• Christiaan is the tallest player to compete in any of the six Olympic games at 212 cm (6'11-1/2").
• Defeated Esteban Grimalt / Marco Grimalt, Chile (20), 21-16 and 21-13 in 39 minutes.
Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel, Poland, Seed #17, Pool E, 0-1, 0.000 Set Ratio, 0.6429 Point Ratio, Qualified 14th with 4,920 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Grzegorz: May 11, 1987 (29y2m26d), 186 cm (6'1"), 81 kg (180 lbs.), Hometown Wadowice, 84th FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $458,650 career winnings (ranks 40th)
• Mariusz: January 21, 1986 (30y6m16d), 191 cm (6'3"), 83 kg (184 lbs.), Hometown Rybnik, 90th FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $462,525 career winnings (ranks 39th)
• Grzegorz and Mariusz have been playing together since 2008. They are playing in their 84th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 15th), one gold medal, $917,300 career winnings (ranks 6th). They have played more FIVB World Tour events together than any other men's team participating in the Rio Olympics.
• Grzegorz has played in 16 FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, four silver, five bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Mariusz has played in 16 FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, four silver, five bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Grzegorz and Mariusz have played in three Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Bronze Stavanger Major 2015, 4th Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016, Bronze Antalya Open 2016).
• Grzegorz and Mariusz finished 5th in the Olympic Games in 2012 (London).
• Grzegorz and Mariusz finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2011 (Rome), 17th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Grzegorz and Mariusz are currently ranked 11th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,080 points and 13th in winnings with $102,750.
• Grzegorz and Mariusz have a career 260-162 (61.6%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 64-41 (61.0%) record in 2015-16.
• Grzegorz and Mariusz won bronze medals at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2013 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Grzegorz won the bronze medal at the U19 World Championships with Michal Matyja in 2005 (Saint Quay Portrieux, France).
• Mariusz was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2011.
• Lost to Viacheslav Krasilnikov / Konstantin Semenov, Russia (8), 14-21 and 13-21 in 36 minutes.