Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016 - Poland's #12 seed Monika Brzostek/Kinga Kolosinska, making the Olympic women's debut for Poland take on the #13 seed, less famous, Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat of the United States in the second pool A match on day two. Fendrick and Sweat are also making their Olympic debut.
Head to Head
Brzostek/Kolosinska lead the head to head series 2-1 on the FIVB World Tour, with all the previous matches coming in the elimination rounds. Fendrick/Sweat won the first meeting in the round of 32 at the World Championships in July, 2015, 22-24, 21-8, and 15-10 in 53 minutes, the only three set match in the series. The Poles won 21-13 and 21-16 in 34 minutes in the round of 24 at the Gstaad Major later in the month and then 21-16 and 21-12 in 33 minutes in the quarterfinals at the Olsztyn Poland Grand Slam in August.
Historically the #12 seed has won three of the five meetings in the Olympic Games. After the #13 seed won the first two sideout scoring matches in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), the #12 seed has won all three rally scoring pool play matches by straight sets in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), and London (2012).
Monika Brzostek/Kinga Kolosinska, Poland, Seed #12, Pool A, Qualified 11th with 4,800 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Monika: July 28, 1989 (27y0m9d), 173 cm (5'8"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown Rybnik, 80th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 94th), $169,587 career winnings
• Kinga: June 2, 1990 (26y2m4d), 179 cm (5'10"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown Lublin, 63rd FIVB World Tour event, $157,662 career winnings
• Monika and Kinga have been playing together since 2010. They are playing in their 55th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 45th), $309,825 career winnings (ranks 54th).
• Monika has played in two FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and one bronze medal.
• Kinga has played in two FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal and one bronze medal.
• Monika and Kinga have played in two Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Bronze Olsztyn Grand Slam 2015, Silver Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016).
• Monika and Kinga finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Monika and Kinga are currently ranked 19th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 2,820 points and 15th in winnings with $91,000.
• Monika and Kinga have a career 92-112 (45.1%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 49-44 (52.7%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Monika and Kinga won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships in 2009 (Blackpool, England).
• Monika and Kinga won the bronze medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and one other silver medal on the CEV Continental Tour in 2012.
• Monika and Kinga are the first women's team from Poland to compete in the Olympic Games for beach volleyball.
• Monika won the bronze medal at the U21 World Championships with Karolina Sowala Marciniak in 2008 (Brighton, England).
Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat, United States, Seed #13, Pool A, Qualified 15th with 4,470 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Lauren: March 20, 1982 (34y4m17d), 188 cm (6'2"), 75 kg (167 lbs.), Hometown Carlsbad, 90th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 77th), $300,387 career winnings (ranks 55th)
• Brooke: March 27, 1986 (30y4m10d), 173 cm (5'8"), 65 kg (144 lbs.), Hometown Fort Myers, 44th FIVB World Tour event, $165,662 career winnings
• Lauren and Brooke have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 30th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, $266,775 career winnings (ranks 68th).
• Lauren has played in four FIVB World Tour final fours with four 4th place finishes.
• Brooke has played in one FIVB World Tour final four with one bronze medal.
• Lauren and Brooke finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Lauren finished 33rd in the FIVB World Championships with Ashley Ivy Swift in 2009 (Stavanger), 5th with Brooke Niles in 2011 (Rome), and 5th with Brittany Hochevar in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Brooke finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Jennifer Fopma in 2013 (Stare Jablonki).
• Lauren and Brooke are currently ranked 22nd in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 2,780 points and 21st in winnings with $67,775.
• Lauren and Brooke have a career 59-69 (46.1%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 42-50 (45.7%) record in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period.
• Lauren and Brooke won the silver medal at the NORCECA Continental Championships in 2015 (Turtle Beach, Trinidad and Tobago)
• Lauren won gold medals on the Norceca Continental Tour with Brooke Niles in 2011 (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) and Ashley Ivy Swift in 2008 (Hacienda Bay Beach, Egypt).
• Brooke won the gold medal on the Norceca Continental Tour with Kristen Batt-Rohr in 2011 (Chiapas, Mexico), with Jennifer Fopma in 2013 (Boca Chica, Dominican Republic) and one other bronze medal with Fopma in 2013.