Shock therapy didn’t work. How Poland won the Volleyball Nations League for the first time in history
Batraz Tomaev July 24, 2023, 11:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
In the final, the Poles confidently beat the Americans – 3:1.
The main off-season volleyball tournament, the League of Nations, ended in Gdansk. The Polish national team at home, with the support of thousands of fans in the stands, managed to defeat the formidable US team. Before the start of the final meeting, the experts did not undertake to determine a clear favorite.
But the native walls still helped the Poles.
game of nerves
Two consecutive aces by Wilfredo León allowed the Poles to take the initiative in the middle of the first set. And Poland led the game. Until the end of the first game, a tough fight was in full swing, but the hosts were always half a step ahead – 25:23. And in the second game I had to get nervous. Losing with a score of 11:16, the Americans tossed Aaron Russell onto the court. It was he who helped them recover: 18:18. The finisher literally in 10 minutes hammered four six balls into the court and put up two blocks. The scores were evened out.
But in the third set, the Americans seem to have lost the whole match. They made many mistakes in the attack, and received crushing blows in response. All this hit the psychology of Americans. As a result, seven errors for an incomplete set, and with the score 13:20, the coach of the US national team, John Spearow, changed almost the entire main team. Shock therapy did not work and the Poles took the lead.
And the fourth set was with the accompaniment of the Polish organ. Not a trace of the lively game of the Americans remained. The Stars and Stripes stalled at first and immediately released the opponent. The final score is 3:1 in favor of the site hosts.
The victory in the League of Nations was the first for the Polish team in history. Previously, they have already managed to reach silver (2021) and bronze (2019, 2022).
Poland men’s national team
Photo: volleyballworld.com
Suffering Bronze
In the third place match, an even fiercer fight unfolded. Three hours before the final, Japan and Italy met on the same site.
The Japanese came close to quickly securing their historic bronze: they were 2-0 in the games, but allowed Italy to come back – 2:2.
In the final set, the Japanese returned to their spirits and played well in both attacking and blocking. And Japan made a decisive breakthrough in the innings of their captain Yuki Ishikawa. He played brilliantly in attack, put an end to the game and formalized the historic victory of his team. The final score is 3:2.
The Japanese also made history: before they had no League of Nations medals.
