The Hague, The Netherlands, July 2, 2015 - Ninth-seeded Fernanda Alves and Taiana Lima of Brazil puts an 11-match winning streak in The Hague on the line here Thursday against eighth-seeded Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez of Spain in the first of four mid-day elimination matches at the 2015 FIVB “senior” Beach Volleyball World Championships on the sand of The Hofvijver stadium court,
Both pairs are 4-0 in the 2015 FIVB World Championships with Fernanda/Lima winning Pool I and the Spaniards topping Pool H. The Brazilians’ winning streak started with seven-straight victory at last year’s FIVB World Tour stop in the Dutch Grand Slam highlighted by a gold medal win over Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of Germany.
Baquerizo and Liliana lead the FIVB World Tour series with Fernanda and Lima 2-1 with Thursday’s meeting being the first this season after the two teams met three times in Switzerland, the United States and Austria during the 2014 campaign.
The Brazilians won the first match in Gstaad last season in their first-ever FIVB World Tour event together after Lima and former partner Talita Antunes ended their partnership. The Spaniards were successful in southern California and Klagenfurt.
The 2015 world championships is the 78th FIVB World Tour event for the Baquerizo-Liliana partnership as the pair seeks to advance to their 21st quarter-final match. A win over the Brazilians will guarantee the Spaniards their best finish in the world championships. Baquerizo and Liliana placed ninth in both the Rome 2011 and Stare Jablonki 2013 world championships.
This week’s event is Fernanda and Lima’s 11th FIVB World Tour stop together. The Brazilians will be seeking their fourth quarter-final appearance. While Fernanda is appearing in her first-ever Beach Volleyball world championships, Lima placed 17th in both the 2011 (Vivian Cunha) and 2013 (Talita) events.
Madelein Meppelink / Marleen Van Iersel (NED), 1st Place Pool A, The Hague
• Madelein Meppelink and Marleen Van Iersel have been playing together since 2014. They are playing in their 16th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together.
• Madelein has played in 10 FIVB World Tour final fours with one gold, three silver, three bronze medals and three 4th place finishes.
• Marleen has played in 18 FIVB World Tour final fours with two gold, three silver, six bronze medals and seven 4th place finishes.
• Madelein and Marleen have played in 3 Final Fours in 2015 (Silver Lucerne Open, Silver Moscow Grand Slam, Bronze Stavanger Major Series).
• Madelein finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Sophie van Gestel in 2012 (London).
• Marleen finished 9th in the Olympic Games with Sanne Keizer in 2012 (London).
• Madelein and Marleen are currently ranked 7th in FIVB World Tour points in 2015 with 2,470 points and 4th in winnings with $98,000.
• Madelein ($268,850) ranks 55th and Marleen ($419,900) ranks 29th in all-time FIVB World Tour individual earnings.
• Madelein and Marleen won the gold medal at the 2014 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final in 2014 (Cagliari, Italy).
• Marleen won the gold medal at the U21 World Championships with Danielle Remmers in 2008 (Brighton, England).
• Marleen won the silver medal at the U19 World Championships with Danielle Remmers in 2006 (Bermuda, Bermuda).
• Marleen won bronze medals at the U21 World Championships with Marloes Wesselink in 2007 (Modena, Italy) and 2006 (Myslowice, Poland).
• Marleen won the gold medal at the 2012 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final with Sanne Keizer in 2012 (The Hague, Netherlands).
• Marleen was named the FIVB World Tour Best Server in 2010 and Most Improved Player in 2009.
Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy (AUS), 2nd Place Pool H, The Hague
• Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy have been playing together since 2013. They are playing in their 27th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament together.
• Louise has played in 3 FIVB World Tour final fours with one silver medal, one bronze medal and one 4th place finish.
• Taliqua has played in 1 FIVB World Tour final fours with one bronze medal.
• Louise and Taliqua have played in 1 Final Four in 2015 (Bronze Porec Major Series).
• Louise finished 19th in the Olympic Games with Becchara Palmer in 2012 (London).
• Louise and Taliqua are currently ranked 6th in FIVB World Tour points in 2015 with 2,520 points and 6th in winnings with $81,375.
• Taliqua won the bronze medal at the U19 World Championships with Eliza Hynes in 2010 (Porto, Portugal).
• Taliqua won the bronze medal at the U21 World Championships with Mariafe Artacho in 2012 (Halifax, Canada).
• Louise was named the FIVB World Tour Top Rookie in 2009.
Head To Head Tied 2-2
• Stavanger Major Series, 06/12/2015, Winner 3, Meppelink/Van Iersel won 2-0 (22-20, 21-19) (0:39)
• Stavanger Major Series, 06/11/2015, Pool B , Meppelink/Van Iersel won 2-1 (21-10, 26-28, 15-12) (0:54)
• Porec Major Series, 06/03/2015, Pool F , Bawden/Clancy won 2-0 (22-20, 22-20) (0:39)
• The Hague Grand Slam, 07/18/2014, Winner 1, Bawden/Clancy won 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 15-13) (0:52)