WorldofVolley :: WCH 2022 W: Football stadium split into 3 volleyball courts, bleachers with no light – both co-hosts successful at opening

Both of the co-hosting nations, Poland and the Netherlands, triumphed in their 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship debuts.

The Poland National Team felt at home in the Netherlands, as they overcame Croatia in the competition’s opening game, also the first game in Pool B, with many of their supporters cheering from the GelreDome in Arnhem. The opponents made a determined effort to pull off the tournament’s first shock, but the Poles, designated favorites for the encounter, prevailed 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-15).

Emotions behind the lines bordering the court didn’t lack either. At 1-1 in the third set, both head coaches boiled. Poland’s Stefano Lavarini and Croatia’s Ferhat Akbaş put on a little show, which was punished with yellow cards for both experts. Interestingly, even though they are co-hosts of the event with the Netherlands, the Polish team had to play their first match in the group stage in the latter country (unofficially, due to the fact that the Netherlands invested far more in the organization) before they host the remainder of the matches on home soil.

Agnieszka Kąkolewska (now using her husband’s last name, Korneluk) staged an exceptional blocking performance for Poland with 7 stuffs. Olivia Różański was the top scorer on the winning side with 16 points. Lucija Mlinar scored 16 points for Croatia, while Božana Butigan made 4 blocks.

The Dutch National Team defeated Kenya in an easy three sets, seeing their supporters out of the hall in Arnhem on the opening day of the World Champs with smiles on their faces. The ’Oranje’ quickly took control of the game against the Africans and got off to a strong start in Pool A. Anne Buijs top-scored for the Netherlands with 15 points. Juliet Lohuis set up 4 blocks.

One of the co-hosting nations, the Netherlands, where the opening matches took place, decided on an unusual idea. They rented the Vitesse football club’s stadium (which was known earlier) and divided it into three volleyball courts. Thanks to this, they’ll be able to hold three matches at the same time, something that will happen, among other days, tomorrow and on Sunday.

The first match, between Poland and Croatia, was marked with darkness in the stands of the hall in Arnhem. The organizers didn’t say whether the lack of the lights in the stands is a form of saving electricity or there was a malfunction. Anyway, the lights in the bleachers were off and the atmosphere during the match resembled that of a cinema room, where only the screen is lit, in this case, the court. The light above the stands was turned on when the Netherlands played against Kenya.