Kobe, Japan, May 11, 2017 - The opening game of the third competition day at the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship 2017 is probably the most crucial one to be played on Friday in Kobe. Russia’s Dinamo Moscow and Brazil’s Rexona-SESC Rio de Janeiro will go face to face in a winner-takes-all situation for the one remaining spot in the semifinals from their Pool A.
One Wednesday, Dinamo achieved their first victory at their debut participation in a Club World Championship. The Russians managed a 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-20) win against hosts Hisamitsu Springs Kobe to stay in medal contention.
Having opened their 2017 campaign with a victory, Rexona-SESC lost their second match in Kobe - 1-3 (17-25, 15-25, 25-20, 15-25) to Turkish powerhouse VakifBank Istanbul.
This will be the first encounter between Dinamo and Rexona-SESC at the Club World Championship level.
Dinamo Moscow (RUS)
- This will be Dinamo’s third match in the Club World Championships. They have a 1-1 win-loss record so far.
- Dinamo’s Nataliya Goncharova scored 39 points so far in her two matches in Kobe and tops the current Best Scorers individual ranking of the tournament.
- Dinamo’s Irina Fetisova is the leader of the Best Servers chart with an average of 0.83 aces per set.
Rexona-SESC Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
- Rexona-SESC have taken part in three editions of the Club World Championship, earning a silver medal in 2013. In 2015 they finished in fourth place and in 2016 they ended up fifth.
- For Rexona-SESC, this will be the 16th match at the Club World Championships. So far, they have won eight and lost seven games.
- The team from Rio have met a Russian opponent only once at the Club World Championship level. In a 2015 semifinal, they suffered a 1-3 loss to Dinamo Krasnodar.
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