Poland come out on top of Nations Cup Pool F
News
The women’s beach volleyball national team of Poland caused an upset in Pool F of the Preliminary Phase of the 2023 CEV Beach Volleyball Nations Cup and will compete in the event’s Finals, which will be held later this year.
Playing in Ayr, Scotland, the Poles overcame opponents from Belgium, Czechia and hosts Scotland to finish in first place in Pool F and secure a spot in the 2023 CEV Nations Cup Finals later in the summer.
With two very balanced and relatively experienced teams in Jagoda Gruszczyńska/Aleksandra Wachowicz and Katarzyna Kociołek/Marta Łodej, the Poles dominated the event, beating each of their opponents once while dropping just a single set during the two days of competition at the Kyle Academy.
Andrea Rafaelli“We were really confident entering this tournament and our goal was to play very well. Everything went perfectly for us during the two days of the event, so we couldn’t be more satisfied.”
Poland’s Head Coach
In the pool final, the Polish overcame the more experienced and accomplished duos from Czechia, who had five Olympic appearances and 14 international victories among their four players. Kociołek and Łodej laid the groundwork for the Pole triumph with a dramatic 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 20-18) victory over Barbora Hermannová and Marie-Sara Stochlova while Gruszczyńska and Wachowicz didn’t waste the opportunity to end the duel and topped Markéta Sluková and Helena Havelkova in straight sets (21-15, 21-19).
Aleksandra Wachowicz“Jagoda and I felt very confident coming to play here in Ayr. We worked hard with the entire team for two weeks and we felt very connected to each other. It’s great to see our hard work paying off with a great result here. Now we’ll look to perform well at the Finals too and to be ready to do well at the EuroBeachVolley and the World Championship.”
Polish Beach Volleyball Player
With the victory, Poland joins the Netherlands as the first two countries guaranteed in the 2023 CEV Nations Cup Finals – the other five pool winners and the host country will also take part in the event. This week will be a busy one in the Nations Cup for the women, with Pool E going on in Heraklion, Greece, Pool G being held in Netanya, Israel, and Pool B taking place in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Created in 2022, the Nations Cup brings added weight in 2023 and 2024, serving as the European pathway in the qualification system for the beach volleyball tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympics – the countries that win the 2024 Finals among the men and the women will each earn a spot in the Games. The seven pool winners and the host country will play in this year's Finals.
The event has a different competition format, promoting ‘country vs. country’ battles. Each nation is represented by two teams and the duels take place in a best-of-three format, with the decider, if needed, being a 15-point golden set.
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