Warsaw: SiltaNews – News Desk
Poland qualified for the knockout phase of the Volleyball World Championship in the Philippines, with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Netherlands. The Poles won three out of three to finish top of Group B, but the Netherlands provided them with their sternest test so far. The Dutch looked particularly strong in a closely fought first set, taking the opener 22-25.
Nikola Grbić’s men, Poland’s coach, raised their game, and despite a strong service game from the Dutch, Poland did just enough to take the second set (25-23) and draw level. The pendulum swung firmly back in Poland’s favor in the third though with key players Tomasz Fornal and Kamil Semeniuk stepping up to help give their country the third set (25-19) and a 2-1 lead.
It stirred the Dutch back into life, and they were back on the front foot with some excellent serves. But Semeniuk responded with consistent serves of his own to take the fourth and decisive set (25-22) for a 3-1 victory. As group winners Poland secured a more favorable draw in the last 16. They will face Group G runners up Canada on Saturday.
As the world’s top ranked nation, Poland are favorites for the tournament, while one of their most keenly fancied rivals, Italy – the team that defeated them in the previous World Championship in 2022 – face Ukraine for a quarter final spot, on Thursday. Olympic gold medalists France will face Argentina on the same day.