Rio de Janeiro, August 13, 2016 - Switzerland's Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre will be looking for their first win against Germany's pool D winners, Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst when they meet in the round of 16 on day eight. The Germans have won all four of the meetings on the FIVB World Tour, including two wins this season. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals, and the loser will be eliminated with a 9th-place finish.
Head to Head
Ludwig/Walkenhorst have won all four meetings between the two teams on the FIVB World Tour, including two wins in 2016
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-19, 10-21, and 20-18 in 50 minutes, A1 Major Klagenfurt, Quarterfinals, 07/29/2016
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-17 and 21-18 in 38 minutes, Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam, Pool Play, 03/09/2016
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 21-19 and 21-16 in 33 minutes, Olsztyn Poland Grand Slam, Pool Play, 08/27/2015
• Ludwig/Walkenhorst won 17-21, 28-26, and 15-11 in 60 minutes, Moscow Grand Slam, Pool Play, 05/27/2015
Historically the #4 seed has won both matches over the #10 seed in the Olympic Games
• Jennifer Kessy/April Ross (4), United States def. Kristyna Kolocova/Marketa Slukova (10), Czech Republic, 25-23, 21-18 in 49 minutes, Quarterfinals, London (2012).
• Barbra Fontana/Linda Hanley (4), United States def. Yuki Ishizaka/Peko Nakano (10), Japan, 15-6 in 32 minutes, Contender's Bracket Round 3, Atlanta (1996).
Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre, Switzerland, Seed #10, Pool C, 1-2, 3rd Place, Qualified 12th with 4,640 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Isabelle: March 28, 1982 (34y4m9d), 178 cm (5'10"), 64 kg (142 lbs.), Hometown St. Gallen, 116th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 33rd), one gold medal, $199,975 career winnings (ranks 90th)
• Anouk: February 11, 1992 (24y5m26d), 185 cm (6'1"), 69 kg (153 lbs.), Hometown Bern, 58th FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $161,825 career winnings
• Isabelle and Anouk have been playing together since 2011. They are playing in their 58th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 38th), one gold medal, $323,650 career winnings (ranks 52nd).
• Isabelle has played in five FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, one silver, one bronze medal and two 4th place finishes.
• Anouk has played in five FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, one silver, one bronze medal and two 4th place finishes.
• Isabelle and Anouk have played in five Final Fours in 2015-2016 (Silver Sochi Open 2015, Bronze Xiamen Open 2015, 4th Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam 2016, Gold Xiamen Open 2016, 4th Fuzhou Open 2016).
• Isabelle and Anouk finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Isabelle finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships with Sarah Schmocker in 2009 (Stavanger).
• Isabelle and Anouk are currently ranked 8th in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 4,110 points and 11th in winnings with $97,700.
• Isabelle and Anouk have a career 123-125 (49.6%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 77-55 (58.3%) record in 2015-16.
• Isabelle and Anouk won one gold medal and two silver medals on the European (CEV) Continental Tour from 2012-15.
• Isabelle won the silver medal at the U21 World Championships with Melanie Schonenberger in 2002 (Catania, Italy).
• Anouk won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Nina Betschart in 2012 (Halifax, Canada).
• Lost to Fan Wang/Yuan Yue, China (15), 22-24, 21-18, and 12-15 in 66 minutes.
• Defeated Mariafe Artacho/Nicole Laird, Australia (22), 19-21, 21-16, and 21-19 in 62 minutes.
• Lost to April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings, United States (3), 13-21, 24-22, and 12-15 in 62 minutes.
Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst, Germany, Seed #4, Pool D, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 4th with 6,500 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Laura: January 13, 1986 (30y6m24d), 181 cm (5'11"), 70 kg (155 lbs.), Hometown Berlin, 130th FIVB World Tour event (ranks 19th), seven gold medals, $800,137 career winnings (ranks 11th)
• Kira: November 18, 1990 (25y8m19d), 184 cm (6'0"), 75 kg (167 lbs.), Hometown Essen, 43rd FIVB World Tour event, seven gold medals, $370,187 career winnings (ranks 43rd)
• Laura and Kira have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 37th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together (ranks 86th), seven gold medals (ranks 10th), $721,275 career winnings (ranks 12th).
• Laura has played in 33 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, 11 silver, nine bronze medals and six 4th place finishes.
• Kira has played in 17 FIVB World Tour final fours with seven gold, three silver, four bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Laura and Kira have played in 11 Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Stavanger Major 2015, Gold Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, Bronze Long Beach Grand Slam 2015, Silver World Tour Finals 2015, Gold Puerto Vallarta Open 2015-16, Gold Antalya Open 2016, Gold Hamburg Major 2016, Gold Olsztyn Grand Slam 2016, 4th Porec Major 2016, Bronze Gstaad Major 2016, Gold Klagenfurt Major 2016).
• Laura finished 9th in the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing) and 5th in 2012 (London), both with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira finished 5th in the FIVB World Championships in 2013 (Stare Jablonki) and 17th in 2015 (The Hague).
• Laura finished 17th in the FIVB World Championships in 2005 (Berlin), 17th in 2007 (Gstaad), 9th in 2009 (Stavanger), and 9th in 2011 (Rome), all with Sara Goller Niedrig.
• Laura and Kira are currently ranked 1st in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 5,980 points and 1st in winnings with $282,375.
• Laura and Kira have a career 155-54 (74.2%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 96-28 (77.4%) record in 2015-16.
• Laura and Kira won bronze medals at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2013 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2014 (Cagliari, Italy), and gold medals in 2015 (Klagenfurt, Austria) and 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Laura won the gold medal at the CEV Continental Championships with Sara Goller Niedrig in 2008 (Hamburg, Germany) and 2010 (Berlin, Germany).
• Laura ranks 3rd with eight gold medals on the CEV Continental Tour behind Greece's Vasso Karadassiou (10) and Vasiliki Arvaniti (9).
• Laura won the gold medal at the U18 World Championships with Jana Kohler in 2003 (Pattaya, Thailand).
• Laura was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2007, Best Offensive Player in 2011, Best Defensive Player in 2013, Most Inspirational in 2013, and Sportsperson in 2015.
• Kira was named the FIVB World Tour Most Improved Player in 2013 and Top Rookie in 2013.
• Defeated Doaa Elghobashy/Nada Meawad, Egypt (21), 21-12 and 21-15 in 34 minutes.
• Defeated Jamie Broder/Kristina Valjas, Canada (16), 21-17 and 21-11 in 32 minutes.
• Defeated Laura Giombini/Marta Menegatti, Italy (9), 21-18, 18-21, and 15-9 in 51 minutes.