Poland sends Dutch rivals to 3-1 loss in the Olympic qualifying match – Volleyball news
Poland made an impressive start in the 2012 European Olympic Qualifiers by defeating the Netherlands on Tuesday, May 1.
Two archrivals staged a volleyball scrimmage, which ended in the Poland’s favour. Dutch ladies could only win one flight in the four set match and dropped the decision. The final set scores were 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-13. There were some moments in the
match when Oranjes came really close to Poles but overall the Polish women maintained their dominance.
Katarzyna Ewa Skowronska-Dolata of Poland captured the spotlight as she added match-high 19 points. She was credited for 15 winning spikes and four blocks, which played a big role in Poland’s victory. The trio of WERBLINSKA, OKUNIEWSKA and ZEBROWSKA also
contributed to the overall success of Poland in the match. WERBLINSKA added 16 points, while other two players registered 14 points apiece.
Netherlands’ Monan Flier was the only player who created a little bit of spark on the centre court. She was the high-scorer on her side with a total of 11 points.
The opening stanza of the match featured a balanced action from both sides. Dutch and Polish players showed good fight spirit and exchanged long rallies. Meanwhile, the score soared up with close gaps. It was a see-saw battle up till the first technical
timeout.
However, the Polish side came up with aggressive attacks after the break and took the score by storm. Dutch ladies trailed behind and slipped first set from their hands, 18-25.
Second set also came successful for Poland and team improved to 2-0. Nonetheless, the Dutch team hit back strongly in third set and captured the set, which forced Poland to play fourth sets. Poland gave the final shot in fourth set and won the set, 25-13.
Manon Flier of the Netherlands was greatly disappointed with under-the-par performance of her team.
Speaking in this regards she stated, “In the third set we played better and did not give up. But I don’t know why we could not play well in the fourth set. It was probably because of lack of confidence.”
However the Dutch mentor Gido Vermeulen said, “Poland played better, especially in defence, and won the match. We prepared well and thought we could win the match. I am proud of my players, because they fought for each ball. 3:1 is a good score to start
with.”
Polish captain Katarzyna Skorupa seemed quite happy with the match result and called it only a first step. She aimed for even better performance in the coming matches. Poland is scheduled to play its second match of the qualifying round against Russia on
Wednesday. It will be the opening match for Russia, while Poland will have the confidence of one victory in the competition.
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