Alison and Bruno lead the series 2-1 with both wins this season at the Rio Grand Slam in March (2-0, 21-15, 21-19, 39 minutes) and the smart Major Hamburg June 11 (2-1, 21-23, 21-14, 15-8, 47 minutes). The Mexican victory was in 2014 at the July Gstaad stop in Switzerland (2-1, 14-21, 21-19, 15-12, 62 minutes).
MATCH PREVIEW
MATCH NOTES
• BRA leads the series 2-1, with two of the three meetings requiring a third set
• MEX won the first ever matchup, in 2014, but BRA has won the past two, both in 2016
• Alison’s first ever main draw happened in Mexico in 2006
• Ontiveros played his first ever FIVB tournament in Montreal in 2005, losing in the qualifier
• Virgen is playing in his 37th FIVB event alongside Ontiveros, and he also played one tournament with his younger brother Ulises Ontiveros
• In the first main draw that Virgen ever played (Acapulco in 2006), he was eliminated by Lombardo and Ulises Ontiveros
• MEX finished 17th on qualifying list to gain entry into the Rio Olympics, the lowest ranked team to get into the Olympics via points (just 60 points ahead of Germany’s Jonathan Erdmann / Kay Matysik)
• MEX won the 2015 Pan-Am Games here in Toronto, defeating a Brazilian team for the title
• All-time MEX has a 2-5 record against #1-seeded teams, including an 0-4 mark this year
• BRA this year has a 44-8 match record, including 23-2 in pool play and 13-6 in three-set matches
• This season MEX has a 53-28 match record, including 33-13 in pool play and 14-11 in three-set matches (after beginning the season 6-1)