Lodz, Poland, June 2, 2018 – Poland won their fifth straight match in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League with a straight-set win over China on Saturday.
Poland coach Vital Heynen: “We had a good first set, then we started the second set bad. We managed to turn the odds in our favour, which was very good. My players feel they are very good and they are sometimes a bit too relaxed.
“After the match I told my players that tomorrow is a special match for me against Germany, so we need the sixth win. We are not playing to lose, we are playing to win.”
Poland player Jakub Kochanowski: “I didn’t feel well on court. My play was worse than the other days. Our goal is to win tomorrow against Germany and believe that we could do this. I have no idea how the line-up will look tomorrow. It doesn't matter because we have our chance. Coach Heynen makes a lot of changes, but the most important thing is that we can keep the good quality of our game, no matter who is on the court.”
China coach Raul Lozano: “The fact that coach Heynen makes so many changes is not a big problem for us because we need to play our game no matter who stands on the opposite side of the net. There are things that we need to do better, which today we didn’t. These things do not depend on what happens on the opponents’ side.
“We all make changes because we have to test new solutions and give some rest to those who are tired. We still have a lot of work to do especially on the technical side. There is a reason why China are outside of the top 20 in the world ranking. I am lucky in a way that once the Chinese play against a team more than once, they will know how to react and they will understand the opponents’ style. We still lack a lot of games against top teams. It would surely help my players if they played more abroad.”
China player Miao Ruantong: “We felt that the atmosphere was excellent even though we lost. We need to learn from the Polish team like how to get points from short rallies and win. I do not think about who is the stronger team because I believe that whoever plays better, wins the game.”