Poland looking supreme in matchup with Germany, will challenge Türkiye for Pool A top spot

In a highly anticipated match-up featuring two teams that know each other very well and would fight to secure at least second place in Pool A, Poland beat Germany 3-0 after three closely contested sets. With this result, Poland will challenge home favourites and defending champions Türkiye on Friday night for the top spot in the group as they both have a perfect record of four wins in as many matches. Later in the evening, outsiders Latvia completed their campaign with a 3-2 drama-filled victory over Hungary, where they cancelled as many as six match points for their rivals in the fourth set before seizing the night at the tiebreak much to the delight of their fans in the arena – thus also accounting for a truly emotional moment for all members of their coaching staff.  

Poland vs. Germany 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 26-24) 

Poland secured an eleventh victory in a row in official international matches with Germany – a run that started after a 0-3 loss the White-and-Reds suffered at the hands of the Germans in the 2021 edition of the Volleyball Nations League. Thursday’s matchup was a key fixture to determine the final standing of the group – with both teams improving with each match since the start of the competition in Istanbul. 

Germany’s Lina Alsmeier said before the match that they were extremely happy with the performance they had delivered the night before against hosts Türkiye, and they started their matchup with Poland in the best way leading by as many as five points (16-11) before Poland responded with an incredible run whereby they won 14 of the subsequent 17 rallies. Their star player Magdalena Stysiak played a major role in such a comeback scoring 10 points throughout the opening set alone. The second set was a very close affair from start to end with Poland eventually sealing it 25-23 with Stysiak contributing nine points this time. 

While at last year’s FIVB Women’s World Championship in Thailand Poland only edged Germany at the tiebreak, this time the White-and-Reds – still without their captain and starting libero Aleksandra Szczyglowska – seemed to cruise towards a comprehensive 3-0 victory. However, Germany regrouped to cancel three match balls in a row at the end of the third set but failed to complete a miraculous comeback as Stysiak again put the ball down for her side to finish it all off at 26-24. The physically imposing Stysiak registered 25 points, with Martyna Czyrnianska as the only other Polish player to finish the match in double digits (10). Lina Alsmeier (13) and youngster Leana Grozer (12) were the top scorers for Germany – in a match that was somehow special for Grozer since her mother is originally from Poland. 

Latvia vs. Hungary 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 33-31, 15-13) 

Team Latvia will remember this day, August 27, for a very long time. The matchup with Hungary was their last in Pool A following their return to the EuroVolley stage for the first time since 1997 and after performing very solidly in their previous games, their ultimate desire was to crown their participation with at least one victory. Hungary were looking for their first win as well – with a theoretical chance of progressing to the next stage still alive. 

Two teams whose rosters include many young players stood against each other and delivered probably some of the most defining and entertaining moments of the competition this far. The tension reached its climax in the fourth set where Latvia dissipated a massive 13-6 advantage and Hungary mounted a terrific comeback. The players coached by Alessandro Chiappini could not capitalise on any of the six match points they had there and Latvia eventually stood tall as they closed the set 33-31 in their favour. This was a setback that the young Hungarian players struggled to recover from – as they quickly trailed in the tiebreak, whereas the Latvians seemed to be carried by the good energy of the previous set. By the time it looked like all was said and done, Hungary surged back again but Latvia closed the match to spark jubilant scenes across their camp and the fans following the match from the stands. An emotional head coach Daniele Capriotti was left in tears and took some time to savour the moment stating there were years of hard work behind this success.

The match was also some sort of a duel between the respective scoring machines with Anett Németh recording 34 points for Hungary – and Marta Kamelija Levinska leading Latvia with 33. Their young age and lack of experience at this level was most probably the main factor to blame for Hungary and their loss in the fourth set.