Lausanne, Switzerland, August 3, 2017 - Both Serbia and Italy have already secured their tickets to the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix semifinals when they clash Friday in Nanjing. But the outcome of their encounter will decide who finishes top of the pool and determine pairings for the semis. The two sides meet for only the fourth time in World Grand Prix history, with the Balkan team enjoying a slight 2-1 lead in the series. Across all competitions, Serbia have won four of their last five encounters with Italy.
Head-to-Head• The winner of this match will finish first in the group and the loser will finish second.
• These teams have met three times before at the World Grand Prix, with Serbia winning twice and Italy once, including the most recent encounter in 2016.
• These teams also met at the 2016 Olympic Games, when Serbia won 3-0 in the group stage.
• Serbia have won four of the last five meetings in all competitions against Italy.
Serbia• Serbia will finish the World Grand Prix in the top four for the first time since 2013, when they finished third.
• They have won eight of their 10 World Grand Prix matches this season, losing only to Brazil (3-0) and Japan (3-2).
• Dating back to last season, they have now won 12 of their last 14 matches in the competition.
• They have won at least two sets in each of their last six World Grand Prix matches.
• Brankica Mihajlovic scored 25 points against USA, including 21 from spikes. Tijana Boskovic also had 21 attacks for Serbia that match.
Italy• Italy will finish the World Grand Prix in the top for the first time since 2010, when they finished third.
• Italy defeated USA 3-1 and have won their last five World Grand Prix matches in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). They also won five in a row in China between 2004 and 2005.
• They have won nine World Grand Prix matches this year, equal to their wins from 2016.
• Paolo Egonu scored 32 points of Italy's 97 against USA, including 24 spikes, both are by far the most in a single match in the Final Round this year.