Netherlands Upset Poland, Ended Poland’s Impressive Winning Streak

In the second match of VNL 2023 Pool 3 held on June 16, Netherlands, who had yet to secure a win in the tournament, managed to end Poland’s impressive six-match winning streak. Despite being the underdogs, Netherlands won the match 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 28-26) to clinch their first victory.

After the match, our journalist interviewed the head coach of team Netherlands, Felix Koslowski, in the mixed zone. He expressed his happiness at defeating Poland, a team that had performed exceptionally well in previous matches and had the ability to play fast. He also mentioned that they were trying to learn from Poland and that they delivered a perfect performance in the first two sets of the game.

Kirsten Knip, the team captain of the winning side, was also interviewed about the difference between the match and their previous games. She said that they believed in themselves and felt that they were playing well from the start of the game. She acknowledged that Poland did not perform at their best in the match and that she had a different feeling compared to the previous day’s game. She expressed her happiness at winning the match and stated that it had boosted their confidence for future games now that they know they can win.

Poland’s team captain, Agnieszka Korneluk, admitted that Netherlands had played exceptionally well and they couldn’t find a way to stop them. She also acknowledged that there were areas where they needed to improve and that they cannot afford to perform at the same level in future matches if they want to win.

Korneluk was also asked about the frequent substitutions made by the coach during the game and the high number of players used. She pointed out that their opponent had also changed a lot of players and they were trying to find different ways to win but failed.

Poland will face team China on June 17, while team Netherlands will play Italy on the same day. Korneluk acknowledged that China is a very strong team with a 100% win rate in the tournament and that they cannot afford to underperform in the upcoming match.

(Reported by Boris CHUNG Bok Man)