Hard clash of Polish women with Olympic champions. End of dreams of volleyball players

Before the match began, one could have had a very aroused appetite, looking at the recent history of matches between the Polish and American women. The victories in the final tournaments of the Nations League were particularly telling, where the Polish women took home the bronze medals of the VNL twice, beating the USA team.

Paris 2024: Poland – USA, Polish women clearly worse than Olympic champions

It has long been known, however, that for each of the US team teams, the Olympic tournament is something special. It is no different in the case of the volleyball players, who came to Paris as gold medalists at the 2021 Olympics from Tokyo. The Polish women quickly learned how much their opponents want to avenge their recent defeats.

Tuesday’s quarterfinals were without much history in the first two sets. The biggest star on the Polish side, Magdalena Stysiak, quickly collided with the American wall (i.e. the block). The attacking opponents were quickly defeated by the desire to win a point after a successful attack. The USA team took the lead 5:1, 9:4 or 16:13. However, one could get the impression that the closer to the end of the set, the better the volleyball players led by coach Stefano Lavarini presented themselves on the court. It is especially worth appreciating the double substitution with the participation of setter Katarzyna Wenerska and attacker Malwina Smarzek.

However, the losses at the beginning of the set were too great, the score was 22:25.

Coach Lavarini looked for solutions, putting on the pitch, among others, the receiver Martyna Czyrniańska (for Natalia Mędrzyk), the middle blocker Klaudia Alagierska (for Magdalena Jurczyk) or the aforementioned Smarzek, for Stysiak, who was not in good shape that day. The second set? It would be better to pass it over in silence, because it ended with a very clear 14:25 to the detriment of the Polish team.

The Polish team rose to the fight in the third set. The Polish team started with an optimistic 5:0, consolidating – it seemed – the advantage with a very effective block by Agnieszka Korneluk. What’s more, the Polish team was leading 10:6 or 11:8. However, the USA once again showed the strength of its volleyball team. A moment later it was already 13:13, and it ended with 20:25 and a sad 0:3 in the whole match.

The USA will play Brazil in the semi-final. For the Polish women, who deserve big applause for their success – for which the quarter-final of the 2024 Olympics can be considered – and a solid lesson for the future. The American women showed how to win in such important matches. And the Polish volleyball players, in the vast majority, still have a lot of international play on the horizon.

The Polish women’s volleyball team has a future for years to come

It should be remembered that the Polish women’s volleyball team returned to the Olympic tournament after a 16-year break. The last time the volleyball players played at the games was in 2008. It seems that if the Polish women had started the quarterfinals the way they did in the third set, the Americans could have had problems. And so, it ended up being just… guesswork.

The team under Lavarini’s baton will certainly try to draw conclusions from this quarterfinal lesson. Interestingly, on Wednesday (i.e. August 7) ​​in the semifinals, the chance for revenge on the US team will be given to… the Polish representatives. The volleyball players will play for the 2024 Olympics final with the Americans in Paris from 4:00 p.m.