Zrenjanin, Serbia, September 25, 2011 – World No. 9 Poland enrolled the second victory in Pool C at the 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women, as they overpowered World No. 21 Czech Republic in a straight-set match (25-20, 28-26, 25-20) in Zrenjanin Crystal Hall in front of 500 spectators.
Poland’s Katarzyna Ewa Skowronska-Dolata led her team with 16 points, while Kristyna Pastulova with 10 points was the top scorer for the team of Czech Republic.
Both Poland and Czech Republic started today’s match like they did yesterday, with a powerful fight spririt. The first set was taken over by the Polish team, after they outplayed the Czechs in the finish of the set. Alojzy Swiderek’s team had the better nerves to finish the first set 25-20.
The fighting was fierce as the second set began. Poland reached a seven-point lead at 11-4, but the Czech girls reduced it to 13-9; and some rallies later they even tied the result at 13-13. At photo finish, the Polish team was in the lead again (21-18), but the Czechs turned the result in their favor with a 5-1 series. The Czech team had two set points at 24-23 and 25-24, which they didn’t use. Poland on the other hand turned to advantage the opportunity they had to conclude the set with their second set point at 27-26.
In the third and final set, there was only one team on the court – Poland. The Czechs, disappointed with the outcome of the second set, didn’t have any power left for stronger defense. The Polish team easily and convincingly won the third set 25-20, thus qualifying them for the second phase of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women from Pool C.
Poland head coach Alojzy Swiderek: “I’m very happy about this victory. Looking back, I could have changed a few things during the match, certain players, to improve a few things, but we won’t discuss details now. We are focused now on the next match.”
Poland captain Maria Milena Radecka: “We are very happy about this victory; we entered the match very concentrated and determined. This match was of great importance to us, all my teammates played well, we had very good blocks, defenses and attacks.”
Czech Republic head coach Jiri Siller: “Congrats to Poland for the victory and excellent performance in this match. We started this match well, but we lost our focus. The percentage of blocks was very low; that fact was what decided who will win the match. We will prepare better for the next game.”
Czech Republic captain Ivana Plchotova: “First, I’d like to congratulate the Polish team for their victory today. I’d like to point out that I feel we didn’t play this match as one team, at the time I felt like we were falling apart; we weren’t able to put our game into a whole. I hope we will play better tomorrow.”