Uberlandia, Brazil, August 3, 2019 – Brazil claimed the ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, following their 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 15-10) triumph against the Dominican Republic in the Tokyo Volleyball Qualification Pool D tournament in Uberlandia.
Brazil and Dominican Republic both carried the same win-records coming into their encounter on Saturday. The match went down to the wire after Brazil opened with two wins and the Dominican Republic responded with victories in the next two sets. In the final set, both teams raced to the end, with Brazil gaining better edge from the performance of their attackers.
Lorenne Geraldo Teixeira and Gabi Guimaraes led the way for the South American Team in the five-set thriller scoring 22 and 18 points, respectively, while Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez and Bethania De La Cruz Pena made 20 and 15 points for the Dominican Republic.
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Brazil – Dominican Republic (August 3, 2019)
Head-to-Head
• Brazil and Dominican Republic meet for the first time in the last seven world Olympic qualifying campaigns (1996-2020).
• Dominican Republic defeated Brazil 3-1 in the preliminary round in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, their first win against them in a major world level tournament.
• Brazil had won each of their first 20 meetings at major world level (Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix, Nations League, Grand Champions Cup).
Brazil
• Brazil started their quest for an Olympic Games ticket with a straight-set win against Cameroon and a five-set win versus Azerbaijan.
• Brazil came back from a 2-1 deficit in sets to beat Azerbaijan 15-12 in the decider.
• Brazil, two-time gold medal winners at the Olympic Games, are the only NOC to have appeared in the women's tournament at each of the last 10 editions (1980-2016).
• Gabriela Braga Guimaraes was Brazil's top scorer against both Cameroon (14) and Azerbaijan (18). Lorenne Geraldo Teixeira (12 and 14 respectively) also reached double figures in both matches.
• Mara Ferreira Leao had a match-high three serve winners against Azerbaijan.
Dominican Republic
• Dominican Republic won both of their matches in Uberlandia, 3-0 against Azerbaijan and Cameroon.
• Dominican Republic won each of their last six matches in world Olympic qualification in which they won the first set.
• Yonkaira Paola Peña Isabel, who did not play against Azerbaijan on Thursday, was Dominican Republic's top points scorer versus Cameroon with 10 points.
• Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez (19) is Dominican Republic's top points scorer in this qualifying group.
• All 14 Dominican Republic players were active on the court against Cameroon on Friday.
Azerbaijan – Cameroon (August 3, 2019)
Head-to-Head
• Azerbaijan and Cameroon meet for the first time in the last seven world Olympic qualifying campaigns (1996-2020).
• This is also the first meeting between the nations in a major world level tournament (Olympic Games, World Championship, World Cup, World Grand Prix, Nations League, Grand Champions Cup).
Azerbaijan
• Azerbaijan lost both of their Olympic qualifiers: 3-0 against Dominican Republic and 3-2 versus Brazil.
• Azerbaijan, who have never reached the Olympic Games, were 2-1 ahead in sets versus Brazil but ended up losing 15-12 in the decider.
• Polina Rahimova was outright top scorer in the five-setter against Brazil, totaling 26 points. Olena Hasanova had a match-high four stuff blocks.
Cameroon
• Cameroon lost both of their two qualifying matches in Uberlandia without winning a set, against Brazil on Thursday and Dominican Republic on Friday.
• Cameroon's only Olympic Games participation was in 2016, when they lost all five of their matches.
• Christelle Tchoudjang Nana (12) and Berthrade Simone Flore Bikatal (10) both reached double figures in points against Dominican Republic on Friday.
• Estelle Adiana (18) is Cameroon's leading points scorer in this qualifying event.