Press materials / World of Volleyball / In the photo: China and Poland match
This is how you prove that you are world class. Having already confirmed qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris, the Polish volleyball team defeated the Chinese in Xi’an in five sets at the end of the qualifying tournament.
The Whites and Reds earned the right to play in the Olympic tournament thanks to Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Dutch national team. On the other hand, the Chinese were only playing for very widely understood prestige, because they had lost their chance to advance to Paris as one of the first in this group, and were in penultimate place in the table. That is why coach Nikola Grbic decided to allow volleyball players who played less than others in Xi’an to play.
– It is important to win the last match. We don’t want to lose him. I hope no one gets hurt, because everyone is actually relaxed now and is already thinking about Paris. But we have to play another game and we have to stay focused. I hope we will play well, this is what our coach said in an interview with Polsat Sport.
Polish volleyball players fulfilled these expectations from the beginning. They played evenly, effectively and at a high level. The Chinese did not cause any damage with their serve, thanks to which the reception in the Polish team was at a really good level. This has translated into high attacking effectiveness for the entire team. It amounted to more than 50 percent.
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After the first few balls, the Poles scored 3-4 points, and then watched the advantage. Grzegorz Łomacz often stimulated the midfielders – Norbert Huber and Karol Kłos, who responded with effective short shots. The Polish team won the first match with a score of 25:20.
There was much fiercer fighting in the second match. The Chinese improved their reception, started playing more effectively in attack and started blocking. The difference changed from time to time, but this time it was the end for the home team. First, Jakub Bobicak “bought” the car, then Wilfredo Leon, who came to save the score, was blocked, and the group went to the Middle Kingdom team 25:23.
The third match was won more clearly by the Chinese team. Guanhua Zhang, the midfielder who played in the second set, came into the match perfectly and was tiring us out with his serve. Similar to host Yuantai Yu. Meanwhile, from our side, Tomas Fornal, who was in very good form, stopped finishing his attacks, Bartlomiej Boadic shot the ball twice and things were no longer calm. China won this part of the match with a score of 25:22 and took the lead in the match.
But the Poles were able to respond to it in the fourth set. First of all, they enhanced their service. In the beginning, Grzegorz Łomacz showed aces, and in the last parts – Bartłomiej Bołądź, who first finished the attack to make the score 17:9 for Poland, then entered the serve and… did not let go until the end of the set. During this time, he scored three points directly from the ninth metro line, including the last point – for 25:9.
In the tie-break, both teams went at full strength. They did not spare any serve or attack. The midfielders boldly started the midfielders and second line. The battle continued point after point for a long time. Until the advantage played out and the Poles finished the set and the entire match with one point at 16:14.
This was the last match of the qualifying tournament in Xi’an. The Poles, who finished first in Group C, will return to the country on Monday evening.
China – Poland 2:3 (20:25, 25:23, 25:22, 9:25, 14:16)
China: Yaochen Yu, Jingjin Zhang, Yongzhen Li, Quan Jiang, Yuantai Yu, Shiqun Ping, Zhongshuai Zhou (Libro) Oraz Dongchen Wang, Guanhua Zhang.
Poland: Grzegorz Lomacz, Tomas Fornal, Norbert Huber, Bartlomiej Bolds, Kamil Semeniuk, Karol Klos, Jakub Popivczak (libero), Wilfredo Leon, Marcin Janusz, Lukasz Kaczmarek.
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