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.

Head to Head

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 Meppelink/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands, Seed #6, Pool F, Qualified 6th with 5,920 Points in the 2015-16 Olympic qualification period

• 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 …

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