Polish volleyball players won against Canada in Xi’an, China, 3-2 (9:25 p.m., 25:20 p.m., 25:20 p.m., 8:25 p.m., 5:15 p.m.) in the third match of the Olympic qualifying tournament.

The start of the match was even, but Luke Herr’s service ace allowed the Canadians to take the lead (7:5), which after Stephen Maar’s counterattack was three points (12:9) . The Poles could not make any point contact with their rivals and after a throw-in by Bartosz Bednorz, they lost 12:16. A moment later, the receiver recovered, Kaczmarek added an effective action and the difference was only one point (16:17). However, the end went to the players of coach Tuomas Sammelvuo – Eric Loeppky’s attacks gave them a 25:21 victory.

The Polish team got off to a better start in the second game, leading 4-2 after a serve from Łukasz Kaczmarek, and when Jakub Kochanowski scored a point directly with a serve, the score was 8-4. The powerful serve and effective counterattacks of the European champions allowed them to increase their advantage (13:6). They kept it calmly until the end of the set, which they won 25:20 after a block from Arthur Szwarc and an attack from Bednorz.

The third game was once again a point-to-point fight, but the counterattacks gave the advantage to coach Grbic’s players (11:8). Counterattacks from Bednorz and Kochanowski increased the distance (17:10). In the second part of this match, the Polish team made a series of mistakes that reduced their lead (19:16), but Bednorz’s actions and Bartłomiej Bołądź’s shot helped them win 25:20.

Good start to fourth set

The Canadians opened the fourth set strongly (5:1), but thanks to simple errors they quickly squandered the advantage and after Bednorz’s attack, the Poles led 10:9. From this moment, a point-to-point fight breaks out between the teams, but when Loeppky plays, the country’s representatives Maple Leaf gain two points over their rivals (17:15). Maar’s attack then his service ace increased the distance (22:18). The match ended with Kochanowski’s broken serve (20:25).

In the tie-break, coach Grbic’s players took a two-point lead and then lost it (7:7). In the end Norbert Huber sent an ace, Bołądź also made it difficult for his opponents to play his serve, but a moment later Szwarc responded in the same way and the score was 13. The Poles were better in the advantage play after Semeniuk. attacks (17:15).

It was not the best match for the Polish team – it made as many as 36 errors, while it received 29 points from the mistakes of its opponents. The most effective player in coach Grbic’s team was Bednorz, who scored 25 points.

It was also the 20th consecutive match won by Polish volleyball players in official competition. They started the series during the Nations League and finished the European Championships with comprehensive victories.

The best two teams from the three qualifying tournaments will ensure their participation in the Paris Olympic Games. France is guaranteed the start as host, and the remaining participants will be selected based on international rankings.

In other matches played in Group C, Argentina won against Bulgaria 3-0 (27:25, 25:21, 31:29), and Belgium unexpectedly beat the Netherlands 3- 0 (25:22, 25:19, 25:15). In the final match, China will face Mexico.

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