After the competition in Beijing, one can be relatively satisfied. The Polish national team won three matches, losing only one (2:3 to Turkey) and after the first week of competition, they are in fourth place in the table.
- We had the opportunity to gain important experience and at the same time practice some tactical ideas. Now we see what we need to improve, taking into account technical and tactical aspects - described Lavarini, who also emphasized that the tie-break defeat to Turkey showed him the most. The Italian is consistent and will also theoretically take the strongest possible squad to Belgrade.
Compared to the tournament in Beijing, there were three changes. In the middle of the net, Sonia Stefanik and Dominika Pierzchała were replaced by Magdalena Jurczyk and Weronika Centka-Tietianiec. Both were ruled out of the trip to China due to injuries, but now the Polish champions with Developres Rzeszów are ready to play. As is the receiver Julita Piasecka, who replaced Olivia Różański.
In Belgrade, the most interesting matches are theoretically those against the United States and Serbia, but both of these teams, playing in experimental line-ups, have collected a total of... one victory in their matches so far. The Americans won 3:0 against South Korea, but in addition to that, they easily lost to the Brazilians and the Italians 0:3 each, and on top of that, they sensationally lost to the Czechs in a tie-break. For the US team, the current season is a completely new beginning, because after 11 years of work, Karch Kiraly was replaced by Erik Sullivan. The American volleyball legend began working with the men's team this year.
They also treat the current season in Serbia as the beginning of something new, where Zoran Terzić began his work as a coach. For him, it is a return to leading the national team after three years. It was during his tenure that the Serbians won the world championship in 2018. Four years later, they repeated this under the leadership of Daniele Santarelli, and they will defend the title in Thailand.
The Nations League began with... four defeats - against the Dominican Republic (2:3), Japan (0:3), Bulgaria (2:3) and Canada (2:3). However, during the tournament in Ottawa, there was no... Terzić, who was resting after the league season. The biggest star, Tijana Boskovic, and many other basic volleyball players also received time off.
Poland-Serbia matches in recent years have been very exciting. The most interesting was in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, when the Serbians won 3:2 (Photo: Mariusz Pałczyński / MPAimages.com) The other rivals of the Polish team, the Dutch and the Germans, have won two each. In recent years, the latter have been very convenient for the White and Reds – the last time the German team beat our team in a match for points was in 2021 during the Nations League (3:0). The rivalry with the Netherlands is definitely more even, because the last ten matches have seen four victories for the Polish team and six triumphs for the Orange. What will it be like this time?
