Poland overpowers Bulgaria to finish on a high note in Chiba

Magdalena Stysiak was the top scorer with 17 points.

Following a loss to host nation Japan on Saturday, Poland concluded their women`s Volleyball Nations League participation in Chiba positively. They secured a convincing straight-sets victory in their final Preliminary Phase match against Bulgaria. As the hosts of the upcoming VNL Finals in Lodz, the team finished the phase with a solid 9-3 win-loss record and 27 points, placing them fourth in the VNL standings. Bulgaria, with a 4-8 record and 11 points, will finish the phase in 13th place.

Poland delivered a dominant 3-0 shutout against Bulgaria with set scores of 25-13, 25-19, and 25-17. They outperformed their southern European opponents in all scoring aspects, particularly excelling in blocking with a notable 12 successful blocks compared to Bulgaria`s three.

While no Bulgarian player managed to score more than six points in the match, an impressive four Polish athletes reached double-digit scores across the three sets. Opposite hitter Magdalena Stysiak led the scoring charge with 17 points, including one block kill, boasting a 59% attack success rate. Outside hitter Paulina Damaske contributed 11 points, including one ace. Her teammate on the opposite side, 21-year-old Martyna Czyrnianska, and middle blocker Aleksandra Gryka also added 10 points each, accumulated from 6 spikes, 3 blocks, and 1 ace.

It was our last game, and we were focused from start to finish, especially with the Finals in Poland approaching, as Polish volleyball needs continuous growth. The coach made some changes today, but it`s always important for whoever is playing to give 100%. I`m happy with this win.

We need to be ready for anything. We are waiting to find out our opponent for the quarterfinals. We definitely need to stay focused because it won`t be easy regardless. We want to win and play our best volleyball in front of our fans in Poland.

Looking ahead, Japan will play their final home match against Brazil at 19:20 local time (10:20 UTC). The match with potential relegation implications, between Thailand and Canada in Arlington, will start at 15:00 local time (20:00 UTC) and will determine whether Korea or Thailand will be relegated.