San Carlos, Brazil, August 6, 2010 - Olympic champion and three-time World Grand Prix winner Mari passed another significant achievement in Brazil's opening 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-12) victory on Friday over Chinese Taipei, completing 100 wins in the shirt of Brazil.

2010 World Grand Prix
FIVB Volleyball
FIVB TV

"I'm very happy. This victory was made even more special for me,” Mari, who turns 27 years on August 23. “I want to continue in the selection for a long time and, if possible, win another hundred victories.” 

Meanwhile, Fabiana’s 2010 World Grand Prix debut was more than significant with her first official match as captain of the Brazilian team. "Before the game I was a little nervous and got frozen. But I know the players and Ze Roberto trusts me," Fabiana said. Fabiana was elected captain by the players themselves, by secret ballot on the idea of coach Ze Roberto.

"I liked the performance of the team, except in the second set, when there was some wrong passing and positioning,” Ze Roberto said on reflection of his side’s opening win. “But on the whole, the match was well executed, the counter-attack and the system block / defense worked. We had the opportunity to use all the players and that will be important throughout the competition. There's always room for improvement, but the team went well,."

Chinese Taipei coach Norimasa Sakakuchi recognized the superiority of Brazil. "Our players felt the pressure of playing against Brazil. We had no such technical quality, we were not good in the spike and blocking, but we played with heart," Sakakuchi said.