Katowice, Poland, May 24, 2018 – Representatives of the four national teams who are about to start the FIVB Volleyball Nations League tournament in Poland gathered at a media meeting at the iconic Spodek Hall in Katowice, where hosts Poland won the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship four years ago. The Polish tournament will start in Katowice on Friday and move to Krakow’s Tauron Arena for the following two days.
Stephane Antiga, coach of Canada said: "We will try to win against every opponent. Comparing to the last season we are missing two players, but we can play here well, we are in good shape. We will play against very good teams, especially Poland and Russia, so we know it will be very difficult. We want to finish this weekend with at least two victories - that would be great for us. It's a long competition, so we will try to keep working and improving. We need to be prepared well for each game. We are so happy to practice and play in Poland. For me it's a pleasure to play here in Katowice and also in beautiful Krakow."
Taylor Sanders, captain of Canada said: "We haven't played together for a long time as a team, just like the other teams. We need to try to win every game and put all of the elements together. I'm sure of one thing – the fans will be great and the atmosphere will be amazing. All the teams here are quite unique, play different styles of volleyball. Russia play powerfully in block and serve, Korea play really fast, so we just have to focus on another opponent very quickly. We know the Polish players very well so it will be fun to compete with them again."
Vital Heynen, coach of Poland said: "The Volleyball Nations League is a period when we can see how players are performing, like we already did during friendly matches against Canada when all players got their chances. I will continue with this during the Volleyball Nations League, to get players on the court and see how they are handling it. Of course I want to win, but we cannot call the Nations League the "test", the 2018 World Championships are the test. This is a process and it's a big difference. So far I feel very good, the team feel very good, the atmosphere is great, the players work hard and have fun. If it's about our opponents, we know nothing about Korea, I have no idea what will happen. They came with many new players, so it's a really open thing. Against Canada, we already played two matches and in both we were very close, so it will be a tough game, especially as last year they finished 3rd in the FIVB Volleyball World League. Russia is a current European champion, missing only Dmitry Muserskiy and Maxim Mikhaylov here. Russia is an absolute favourite for these three days. We need to understand that we have to build up the position of Poland, because the team was 10th in the European Championships and 8th in the World League last year. Our first goal is to win some matches. I think, I will be happy if we win one or two matches already in the first part, because I will play with young guys, so let's do the first step."
Michal Kubiak, captain of Poland said: "This season isn't easy for us for sure, but everybody wants to give the maximum to the team. The coach is changing the roster all the time to give us some time to breathe and also check our skills on the court. We are a new team, with a new coach and we are trying to find our game and style, but we still need to fight for victories. We want to win as much as we can, no matter who will be on court."
Sergey Shlyapnikov, coach of Russia: "We are very glad that we can play in Poland again. We’ve just finished the Russian league, therefore we haven't had a lot of time to prepare for the Volleyball Nations League. In my opinion the system of this event is one of the fairest, because we have 16 teams and every team will play 15 matches. We will have an opportunity to see our opponents and gain new experiences, which is crucial before the World Championships. This tournament will be tough, because the schedule is very tight. I want to give a chance to many players, to rotate the line-up, because this tournament is a perfect occasion for it."
Dimitry Volkov, captain of Russia: "We didn’t have too much time to prepare for these matches, because we just ended the national league competition. However, we are sure that our shape will improve with every match. We are optimistic before this tournament, we want to show our best and to test various players. We have strong opponents, so we have to be focused on preparations for these matches. We played two friendly games against Bulgaria and we won both. It’s always hard to play against Poland on their home soil, because they always have enthusiastic support from their fans."
Kim Hochul, coach of Korea: "So far we really like Poland and we are very happy that we can compete here. Poland have a great team, therefore we are glad to have the opportunity to play against opponents like them. Playing against such tall and physically strong players is an additional challenge for us."
Moon Sung-Min, captain of Korea: "The first match is very important for our team. We look forward to playing matches against all our opponents. We will do our best and we will fight until the end and we will see how it turns out."