Vienna, Austria, August 4, 2017 - Since 2009 match statistics have been kept at World Championships. While the game scores can tell you who won the match, the statistics can tell you why they won.
On the women’s side, five of the top eight blockers in terms of blocks per set are in the quarterfinals.
• Brazil’s Carolina Salgado along with Brandie Wilkerson and Sarah Pavan from Canada all average 2.0 blocks per set.
• Carolina tallied eight blocks in a single match, tying for the most in World Championship history, in her first round match against Australia this week.
• The other two players among the top blockers who are in the quarters include Kira Walkenhorst (1.73 per set) and Lauren Fendrick (1.69). Fendrick is the all-time leader in blocks in World Championships.
Carolina not only leads this tournament in blocks but also is in the top 10 in aces (1.10 per set).
• The leader in this category, Finland’s Taru Lahti, averaged 1.90 aces per set in her 10 sets. Over half of her tournament totals came in a single match, as she tied a World Championship record with 10 aces in her pool play match against Costa Rica.
• Melissa Humana-Paredes, with 1.30 aces per set, is the only other player in the quarterfinals who is in the top 10 here. But two others are just below that tier, Larissa Franca and April Ross. Both of those players are in the top four in all-time aces, with Ross leading (76) and Larissa at fourth with 54.
Summer Ross is pacing the field in kills, averaging 8.46 per set, and will look to increase that total in the quarterfinals.
• Julia Sude (7.50) is the only other player in the top 10 who reached the quarters.
• One player who lost in the match to get into the quarters was Czech Republic’s Michala Kvapilova. She began the event by logging 31 kills in her first pool play match, the third most in a single match. Opponents must have noted that and stayed away from her, as she totaled just 57 more kills in her next four matches.
• Four of the top five all-time leaders in kills are still playing, and will continue to distance themselves from the pack. Maria Antonelli, with 457 kills, has the most ever, followed closely by April Ross (453).
• Not far behind are Talita Antunes (407) and Lauren Fendrick (362).
As you are following the scores of this tournament, also be sure to click on the
STATISTICS tab to see the story told with numbers of how the match took shape.