Hoffman Estates, USA, June 17, 2018 – Serbia patiently orchestrated their offence and defence to make a comeback in each set and record a 3-0 triumph against Poland on Sunday at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League at the Sears Centre.
Serbia coach Nikola Grbic said: “It was a good win, not only because of the result but because of the energy we put on the court. Everybody who played and everyone on the bench cheered the players. We had good team spirit. Even though we were down in every set, we never lost patience. That’s why I am much more satisfied with that than with the victory itself. We have to think step by step. We have to think that first, our opponents are Canada and we have to think about Canada. If you think too much ahead then you are missing what is happening right now.”
Serbia player Aleksandar Atanasijevic said: “It was a very difficult match because it was the third match in three days. The most important thing is that we achieved our goal. We won two matches and now we can be more relaxed before the last weekend when we will try to get three victories and go to the Final Six. We talked at the beginning of the tournament. For sure, it is always difficult to be in the best six teams in the world. But I think our place is to play with the best teams and to fight for the medals. I hope this year we will have another chance to play at the highest level.”
Poland coach Vital Heynen said: “Sometimes you can lose a match 3-0 and play a good match. We played a good match, but I think every set at 23-23 we made one mistake more than Serbia. I have a lot of inexperienced guys here trying out. That’s the price we pay. If there is someone to blame it is the coach who takes the young guys with him. It’s the process for young guys to learn. I am not satisfied with the result, but I am satisfied with the play we had.”
Poland captain Mateusz Bieniek: “We were closer to getting a win, even winning one set, than we were yesterday. We still have to get to Australia and win matches there to get to the Final Six. Today, it was just a couple silly errors on our part that kept us from coming up with the win. We were expecting a big Polish crowd. We were here three years ago and it was a packed arena. We promise to get better and come back with a win for them.”