Polish volleyball players return to Olympic tournament After 16 yearsThey last played in Beijing and were eliminated in the group stage. They did better in Paris, reaching the quarterfinals and in good style. But at this stage, they faced very demanding opponents from the United States.
The Americans set the bar high, played very bravely in attack and service, and the Poles allowed their opponents to suppress them. From the very beginning, the opponents imposed their style, and our players could not respond with more difficult serves. Only at the end of the set did the match end. However, the Americans did not waste their advantage.
The second set saw clear dominance of the Olympic champions who started the set with a 5:0 and 9:4 lead. The Poles had no idea how to break the American wall, they finished only seven balls in attack and added five effective blocks. The rivals won 25:14.
A glimmer of hope appeared at the start of the third set, when the Poles won their first four games, and Kiraly quickly called a timeout. Stefano Lavarini’s players had a five-point advantage (11:5), but then their rivals came out on top. It ended at 25:20. The United States advanced to the semifinals.a Poland said goodbye to the tournament.
Volleyball: Polish volleyball players return home
About a day after the defeat, some of the volleyball players set off to return home. Natalia Mdrzejczyk, Agnieszka Kornelyuk, Joanna Wosch, Magdalena Stysiak and Malwina Smarczyk boarded a plane that was scheduled to leave Paris for Warsaw at 7:45 p.m.
About 22 competitors landed at Frederic Chopin Airport.
As they gathered their luggage and walked through the terminal, they saw a small group of fans waiting for them to return. There would undoubtedly have been more fans if the players had not made a different choice than originally planned. The passengers on the flight from Paris were supposed to show up in Zone 2, and supporters and journalists were also queuing there. By chance, we learned from other passengers that the actors had gone to Zone 1.
When we got there, it turned out that the volleyball players would not be giving interviews. According to the airport’s media relations officer, the players remained at the airport alone and “were not obligated to talk to journalists.”
The rest of the team and coaching staff are expected to arrive in Warsaw on Thursday around 1pm.
From Warsaw Chopin Airport Jakub Zelepin, Intria
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