05/08/2015 18:22
Poland’s men go for couple of home wins, set sight on upcoming Final Four
2015 CEV Volleyball European League - Men
Warsaw, Poland, August 5, 2015. The matches played last weekend determined two of the teams set to participate in the Final Four tournament of this year’s CEV Volleyball European League – Men along with hosts Poland. On August 13 and 14 the teams of Estonia and Slovenia will battle it out in Walbrzych; Greece are also close to making the Finals but the Former Y.R. of Macedonia also do stand a chance if they win both of their matches with Poland and Greece lose twice to Slovenia.
However, before the competition reaches its final and most exciting stage, there is still one weekend of League Round action to go. The sixth and last leg (scheduled for August 7 and 8) will feature the matches between hosts Poland and the Former Y.R. of Macedonia in Kalisz. The home team is currently ranked second in Pool A while their upcoming opponent sits in third place.
“Our goal in the League Round of the European League was to shape up our form for the Final Four tournament in Walbrzych,” says Poland’s head coach Andrzej Kowal. “We have tried numerous game variations, which might be useful in the deciding matches. I can see that my players keep on progressing.”
Andrzej Kowal stresses that his team’s objective in Kalisz is a double win. “We are building a team for the Final Four but we do want victories all the same,” said the coach.
The white and red team’s mentor had good reasons to celebrate after their last matches. While Poland’s first win in the away games against Israel came only after a tie-breaker (26-24, 21-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-9), the rematch went according to plan, without dropping a set (25-20, 28-26, 25-22). Kowal’s men showed some good Volleyball. This time their nominal receiver Bartosz Bednorz played as opposite, and some very steady performances were delivered by both middle blockers – Jan Nowakowski and Dawid Dryja and by the left-handed outside spiker Aleksander Sliwka.
Sliwka will miss the games against the Former Y.R. of Macedonia, as he is going to attend the sparring matches of Poland’s U21 national team against Brazil. He will, however, be back for the European League Final Four in Walbrzych. After that, he will rejoin the junior team, getting ready for the next month’s World Championship in Tijuana, Mexico. How far his absence means better chances for the opponents in Kalisz, we will see in just a couple of days.
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