Rio de Janeiro, August 15, 2016 - Russia's Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Konstantin Semenov takes on Nivaldo Diaz/Sergio Gonzalez of Cuba in a battle of unbeaten teams to wrap up the men's quarterfinal matches in Rio. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in FIVB World Tour competition. The winner will advance to the semi-finals, and the loser will be eliminated with a 5th-place finish.
Head to Head
The two teams have never met in FIVB World Tour competition.
The #8 seed has never played the #21 seed in the Olympic Games.
Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Konstantin Semenov, Russia, Seed #8, Pool E, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified 9th with 5,230 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period
• Viacheslav: April 28, 1991 (25y3m18d), 196 cm (6'5"), 73 kg (162 lbs.), Hometown Gelengzik, 34th FIVB World Tour event, one gold medal, $176,387 career winnings
• Konstantin: June 9, 1989 (27y2m6d), 210 cm (6'11"), 100 kg (222 lbs.), Hometown Tokmak, Kyrgyzstan, 74th FIVB World Tour event, two gold medals, $269,362 career winnings (ranks 77th)
• Viacheslav and Konstantin have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 32nd FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, one gold medal, $340,775 career winnings (ranks 52nd).
• Viacheslav has played in nine FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, three silver, two bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Konstantin has played in 10 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, three silver, two bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Viacheslav and Konstantin have played in five Final Fours in 2015-2016 (4th Yokohama Grand Slam 2015, 4th Sochi Open 2015, 4th Xiamen Open 2016, Silver Sochi Open 2016, Bronze Hamburg Major 2016).
• Konstantin finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Serguey Prokopyev in 2012 (London).
• Viacheslav and Konstantin finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Konstantin finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2011 (Rome) and 9th in 2013 (Stare Jablonki), both with Yaroslav Koshkarev.
• Viacheslav and Konstantin are currently ranked 21st in FIVB World Tour points in 2016 with 3,180 points and 18th in winnings with $82,700.
• Viacheslav and Konstantin have a career 105-56 (65.2%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events and a 68-35 (66.0%) record in 2015-16. They are 93-16 (85.3%) when winning the 1st set, with 74 wins by sweeps and 19 in three sets. They are 7-39 (15.2%) when losing the 1st set, with 30 losses by sweeps and 9 in three sets.
• Viacheslav and Konstantin won the silver medal at the European (CEV) Continental Championships in 2016 (Biel, Switzerland).
• Yaroslav and Konstantin Semenov won one gold medal on the CEV Continental Tour in 2013.
• Pool E: Defeated Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel, Poland (17), 21-14 and 21-13 in 38 minutes.
• Pool E: Defeated Esteban Grimalt/Marco Grimalt, Chile (20), 21-17 and 21-14 in 35 minutes.
• Pool E: Defeated Reinder Nummerdor/Christiaan Varenhorst, Netherlands (5), 21-15, 14-21, and 15-9 in 45 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Jefferson Santos Pereira/Cherif Younousse, Qatar (19), 21-13 and 21-13 in 32 minutes.
Nivaldo Diaz/Sergio Gonzalez, Cuba, Seed #21, Pool D, 3-0, 1st Place, Qualified through North, Central America and Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA) Continental Cup
• Nivaldo: March 24, 1994 (22y4m22d), 200 cm (6'7"), 81 kg (180 lbs.), Hometown LA Habana, 2nd FIVB World Tour event, $5,500 career winnings
• Sergio: June 20, 1990 (26y1m26d), 192 cm (6'4"), 89 kg (198 lbs.), Hometown Holguin, 2nd FIVB World Tour event, $5,500 career winnings
• Nivaldo and Sergio are playing in their 2nd FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together, $11,000 career winnings.
• Nivaldo and Sergio finished 9th in the FIVB World Championships in 2015 (The Hague).
• Nivaldo and Sergio have a career 7-2 (77.8%) match record in FIVB World Tour Events, all in 2015-16. They are 6-0 (100.0%) when winning the 1st set, with 4 wins by sweeps and 2 in three sets. They are 1-2 (33.3%) when losing the 1st set, with both losses in three sets.
• Nivaldo and Sergio won eight gold, one silver, and one bronze medal on the NORCECA Continental Tour from 2012-2014.
• Sergio has won seven gold, six silver, and two bronze medals on the NORCECA Continental Tour with Yaismel Borrel, Kinderlan Alvarez, and Karell Pena from 2009-2013.
• Sergio ranks 2nd all-time in NORCECA Continental Tour gold medals with 15 and Nivaldo ranks 5th with eight.
• Nivaldo and Sergio helped secure Cuba’s Rio berth with a 5-0 match mark in the NORCECA Continental Cup in Guaymas, Mexico
• Nivaldo and Sergio with one previous FIVB World Tour event each are tied with Tunisia's Choaib Belhaj and Mohamed Naceur as the least experienced men's players at the Rio Olympics.
• Pool D: Defeated Evandro Goncalves/Pedro Solberg, Brazil (4), 24-22, 21-23, and 15-13 in 59 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins, Latvia (9), 23-21, 19-21, and 15-9 in 51 minutes.
• Pool D: Defeated Ben Saxton/Chaim Schalk, Canada (16), 21-15 and 21-18 in 33 minutes.
• Round of 16: Defeated Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst, Austria (13), 21-17 and 21-14 in 34 minutes.