Ostrava, Czech Republic, July 30, 2017 –
Poland triumphed as the Group 2 winners of the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix. With a tremendous performance by the blockers and a great overall team effort, the Poles handed
Korea an impressive 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21) shutout in Sunday’s final played in the fantastic ambiance created by the numerous fans who travelled to Ostrava from both countries to cheer for their teams.
Korea’s
Yeon Koung Kim was the best scorer of the match with 15 points.
Berenika Tomsia and
Agnieszka Kakolewska contributed 12 and 11, respectively, to the winning side’s tally. Poland’s 14 kill blocks stunned the opponents and made the biggest difference in the game.
Poland took revenge for their 0-3 loss in Korea earlier in the season. The last time they had defeated this Asian opponent at world level was a straight-set win in the 2012 World Grand Prix.
Quick links - Volleyball:
Poland’s great blocking effort, especially by
Zuzanna Efimienko, made the difference in the first set. The Poles broke away after the second technical time-out and sailed on towards a 25-19 win. With Berenika Tomsia on fire at the net, Poland opened up a wide gap in the second set, but Korea fought back and almost caught up. The Poles kept their cool in the concluding moments as Efimienko tipped a stray ball over the net to close it off at 25-21. The Asian squad had no intention of giving up and rushed into the third set with a 5-0 run. It was time for Poland to play catch-up and at 13-13 the balance was restored. Playing great in both defence and offence, the European team gained momentum and, when it counted the most, the block was where it needed to be, contributing three of the last five points on the way to a 25-21 win.