Qualifying for the 2017 FIVB World Championships via the European Continental Cup process, Meppelink and van Gestel will be competing in their second worlds after placing 17th in 2013 at the Polish edition.  The 2017 worlds will be Meppelink’s fourth and van Gestel’s third.  Meppelink and Marleen van Iersel were ninth in 2015 at The Hague while van Gestel and Jantine van der Vlist were 17th.  Van Gestel placed on the youth world championship podium three times with two silvers (2008 under-19 with Rimke Braakman and under-21 with Michelle Stiekema) and a bronze (2011 under-21 with Braakman) medal to her credit.  Both players are two-time Olympians with Meppelink and van Gestel finishing ninth at the London 2012 Summer Games.  At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Meppelink and van Iersel placed ninth and van Gestel and van der Vlist finishing 19th.  Meppelink started competing in FIVB-sanctioned events in 2007 and van Gestel in 2008.  The pair topped a FIVB World Tour podium together in 2013 at Corrientes, Argentina.  Meppelink and van Iersel captured the 2014 European Championships in Italy.