Lodz, Poland, June 1, 2018 – Poland kept their perfect record into the fourth leg of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League. At a sold-out Atlas Arena in Lodz, the home side delivered an impressive 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) shutout of the other team on full nine points after the first week, France, and substitute Dawid Konarski had something to do with it.
He came in to replace star starter Bartosz Kurek when Poland were stumbling halfway through the second set and with a few fantastic performances at the net became instrumental to a spectacular turnaround that put the team back on track towards the straight-set victory. Playing their big part in this key moment of the match were also young middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski, as well as Mateusz Bieniek from the serving line.
20-year-old Kochanowski became the leading scorer for Poland’s victory with 11 points, followed by captain Michal Kubiak with 10.
France’s Stephen Boyer was the top scorer of the match with 13 points. His teammate Kevin Tillie also went into the double digits with 11.
It was a great overall team effort on Poland’s side to reach their fourth consecutive three-point win, masterminded by the clever moves of coach Vital Heynen and inspired by the unabated support from the stands.
Poland were trying to recover from a six-point deficit in the second set. After 13-17 Konarski attacked successfully twice to set his squad off on an amazing nine-point rally, which changed the course of the set and the match. Bienek went next with a 108.3 km/h ace. Konarski again, this time with a kill block, added another point to the series. Bienek did one even better, scoring from the serving line with a speed of 112.6 km/h. It was Konarski’s turn again – a spike off the opponents’ block pulled Poland further away. Kochanowski joined in on the fun, winning a joust and mastering a stuff block to register the next two points. Finally Konarski again shaped up the incredible comeback with a kill block for 22-17 Poland’s way...
Other than that, the host team were in control pretty much throughout the other two sets, with experienced Kubiak and Kurek setting the example and leading the way to this so important Polish victory.