Lausanne, Switzerland, July 4, 2017 - Mexico host Australia Friday in Aguascalientes as the visitors still seek their first ever FIVB World Grand Prix win after 20 matches in the past three seasons. It is the third time the two sides meet in any official competition, with both previous matches in the Grand Prix.
Head-to-Head• Mexico and Australia will meet for the third time at a major tournament.
• Their previous two encounters came at the last two editions of the World Grand Prix (2015, 2016), with Mexico winning 3-1 on both occasions.
• Australia (2) and Algeria (4 times) are the only opponents which Mexico have defeated at the World Grand Prix.
• Australia have lost 3-1 in each of their last three WGP matches against NORCECA sides since the 3-0 defeat against Cuba in 2015.
Mexico• Mexico participate in the World Grand Prix for the fourth time. They finished respectively 26th (2014), 28th and last (2015) and again 26th (2016) on the previous three occasions.
• They finished their 2016 campaign with a win over Australia and could win consecutive World Grand Prix matches for the second time, after a run of three in a row in 2015-2016.
• Mexico have lost the first set in each of their last five WGP matches since the 3-0 win over Algeria in their first match of 2016.
• In 2016, Freda López recorded on average 3.26 digs per set, most by any player in group 3.
Australia• Australia could claim their first World Grand Prix victory after they lost their first 20 matches in the competition.
• Australia could win at least one set in consecutive World Grand Prix matches for the first time since July 2015.
• They hope to improve on their 27th place from last season - their best result in the competition was a 24th place in 2015.
• Shae Sloane had an average of 0.55 aces per set in the 2016 World Grand Prix, highest of all players in the competition.