Poland used superior blocking to spoil a big game from retiring Japanese captain Sarina Nishida.
World no. 4 Poland overcame an early-game setback to frustrate Japan in the women’s indoor volleyball competition of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, scoring a tough 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 28-26 win Sunday (Philippine time).
After losing the opening set, Poland went right to work behind Agnieszka Korneluk and Magdalena Stysiak, using their superior blocking to keep the world no. Japanese at bay.
Korneluk led Poland in scoring, finishing with 20 points. She also record more blocks than the whole Japanese team, finishing with eight for the game.
Poland had a 14-5 advantage in blocking.
For Japan, winners of silver in the recent VNL season, it was a disappointing start as the team went into the Olympics looking to improve upon their 10th place finish from Tokyo 2020.
Team captain Sarina Nishida, who announced before the Olympics that she will be retiring after Paris 2024, opened her farewell campaign with a game-high 27 points, 26 from attacks.