Lausanne, Switzerland, July 18, 2017 - Serbia have won all of their last three encounters with Russia, including a stunning 3-0 sweep in the Rio 2016 Olympics quarterfinals. Russia last beat Serbia in five sets in Kaliningrad for the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix. Serbia lead the Group 1 standings on a 5-1 record (on par with The Netherlands), with the reigning European champions at 2-4 after rebounding from four back-to-back defeats to start the season.
Head-to-Head• Serbia have won each of their last three encounters with Russia at world level.
• They most recently met at the Olympic Games in Rio last year. In the quarterfinals, Serbia triumphed in straight sets.
• Russia recorded their last major victory over Serbia in the 2015 World Grand Prix, a 3-2 pool victory in Kaliningrad.
Serbia• After two weeks of play in the World Grand Prix this season, Serbia lead Group 1 with five victories from their first six matches.
• This is their best start to a World Grand Prix campaign since 2013, when they also won five of their first six.
• The 2013 season is also the last in which Serbia finished in the top six. They came third that season.
Russia• Russia have started their 2017 World Grand Prix season with four defeats from their first six. This is a far cry from last season, when they started out with six successive victories.
• This is Russia's worst start to a campaign since 2014, when they also lost four of their first six.
• Russia recorded a top six finish in 17 of their previous 20 World Grand Prix seasons.