ARLINGTON, United States – Poland defeated Germany while the United States got past Japan in the quarterfinals of the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) final round, which began here on Wednesday.
Poland, the highest-ranked team in the preliminary phase, beat Germany 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-21, 26-24), to enter the tournament's semifinals for the first time.
Magdalena Stysiak and Olivia Rozanski were Poland's main offensive weapons, scoring 18 points each. Outside hitter Martyna Lukasic got 15 points.
Germany's outside hitter Hanna Orthmanny top scored with 22 points. Germany was better from the service line, firing six aces to Poland's two.
Poland made fewer errors (14 to 21), and led Germany in attacks (64 to 57) and blocks (10 to five).
"For us, it's a great result to be among the four best teams in the VNL, but I'm confident we can still show more," said Stysiak after the match.
"Regardless of who comes on the other side of the bracket, we need to focus on ourselves," the 22-year-old opposite added.
Later on the day, reigning Olympic champions the United States also secured a 3-1 win (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 25-18) over Japan, joining Poland in the semifinals.
Japan were one of only two teams topping the United States during the preliminary phase of the VNL 2023. But this time, playing in front of their home fans, the United States performed strongly and offensively.
Left-handed opposite Andrea Drews tallied 13 points (11 attacks, two aces) while outside hitters Kelsey Robinson and Avery Skinner had 11 points apiece. Japan's outside hitter Yukiko Wada scored a match-high 14 points.
The US, three-time VNL gold medal winner, led Japan in attacks (62 to 50) and blocks (ten to nine).
"Nobody can ever really feel comfortable," US head coach Karch Kiraly said after the victory. "Sometimes we have to figure out ways to win the next point."
"It is really difficult to win the rally. We made some adjustments and like I said, there was a total team effort. So people came in to help out," he said.
"Japan always play really hard defense and we had to stay really patient," commented setter Micha Hancock.
The VNL is the world's premier annual international indoor volleyball tournament. Sixteen teams that competed in the preliminary phase have been narrowed down to eight after 96 matches ending on July 2.
The other two quarterfinals will be held on Thursday, with China battling Brazil and Turkey facing Italy.
The semifinals will be played on Saturday and medal matches on Sunday. (Xinhua)
