Poland claims 3-0 win over hosts Finland in the FIVB World League match – Volleyball news
Poland climbed up the top spot in Pool B of the 2012 FIVB World League after beating hosts Finland on Friday.
Poles displayed consistent performance and bagged 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-19) victory.
After 10 matches, Poland now stands with an overall record of 8-2 and it has a total of 23 points. Finland had the competitive edge of playing at home but the Poles proved to be better and stole the show in straight sets.
Michal Winiarski of Poland emerged as the most effective player of the game. He notched up match-high 12 points, which included 10 winning spikes and one ace. On the other hand, Mikko Oivanen supported Finland with team-high eight points. None of the Finnish
players could go into double figure scores but four Polish players added double-digit scores.
The visiting team had done its home work and made a strong opening in the match. They played in front of a strange audience but did not show any sign of intimidation. They played in their usual style and stormed opponents’ half with powerful shots. The hosts
demonstrated a ‘down the par’ performance and failed to give a good competition to the visitors. First set quickly covered its length and ended in Poland’s favour at 25-16.
The loss of opening set forced the home squad to come up with a better plan in the following set. They served with power and managed to score well. Nonetheless, Poland remained one step ahead in the game and did not allow the rivals to come up. Finland did
create the tie of scores at 24-all but could not avoid defeat at 24-26.
In the third set, hosts started out with aggressive serves and showed a good fighting spirit. Poland had two-point deficit at the FTT but gradually regained better status. As many would have thought, Poland claimed third set (25-19) and announced match victory.
The match was followed by the official press conference, where coaches and captains of both teams talked about the match.
The winning coach Andrea Anastasi expressed delight about his team’s wonderful feat. Speaking of the match, he said, “We have had problems with Finland before, but now our players were very focused in the match and played well. It was important to win this
match, but we have still two matches left here in Tampere.”
Likewise, the Polish skipper Marcin Mozdzonek had the similar feelings. He revealed that they played under a bit of fear but managed to overcome the hosts with better attack and defence.
Meanwhile, the head coach of Finland Daniel Castellani said, “The Polish block was very hard and they also received very well, but we had problems in receiving. Second set was better but not enough.”
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