Stysiak delivers 20 points to bring her team back to the top of the standings
Stysiak spikes above the Chinese block
Just a day after suffering their first defeat in Volleyball Nations League 2023 and lost their leading position in the current standings to unbeaten China, Poland bounced back in the best possible way to personally hand the Asian powerhouse their first loss of the tournament and regain the top of the table.
Polish opposite Magdalena Stysiak led the team to a stunning 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) shutout of the Pool 3 hosts in Hong Kong on Saturday, with which the European side improved to a 7-1 win-loss record and 20 points, ahead of second-placed China on 6-1 and 17.
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Stysiak spiked 19 points at a 54% success rate and served an ace towards the match high of 20 points. Outside hitter Martyna Lukasik added another 13, including three kill blocks. Two of China’s players, opposite Gong Xiangyu and outside Li Yingying also finished with 13 points apiece.
Following a very competitive start of the first set, after 9-9, Poland gradually started breaking away for good. Spearheaded by Stysiak in attack, the Europeans widened their lead to as many as six points before sub-in Monika Galowska closed the set with a block-out shot for 25-20. Poland were in control for most of the second set too. China fought back from an 8-3 deficit to level the score at 9-9, and then again from a 17-13 lag to catch up at 20-20, but never quite managed to step in front. This time it was Stysiak, whose powerful block-out hit closed the set at 25-23 Poland’s way. Inspired by the home fans, China attempted a comeback in set three and managed to gain a 10-7 lead, but that was immediately wiped out as Poland regained control of the scoreboard with four points in a row. They kept their pace to widen the lead until outside Olivia Rozanski hammered the match winner for 25-22.
Olivia Rozanski in attack
“We knew that China were a really good team,” said Rozanski after the game. “Yesterday we were a little bit sad because we lost. But we have confidence in our team and we can play against the best of the best. So we just forgot about yesterday’s match and we started a new chapter again. Every win is a big thing for us, because we want to win all the matches, and this one, for sure, boosts our confidence, so we’re really happy.”
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