Poland one step closer to world championship semis after beating Serbia 3-0
Poland has taken one step closer to the semifinals of the volleyball World Championships after beating Serbia for the second time in a row.
But despite winning 3-0, the match against Serbia was an uphill battle with three very even sets (28-26, 28-26, 25-22).
Outside hitter Artur Szalpuk said after the game: “There were a lot of emotions. For sure, the Serbs played better than in the last game.
“Some of them were threatening that in different circumstances they would win, but they didn’t.”
The high stakes were visible from the first serve with Serbia dominating the game in the first two sets but losing focus in the final moments of each.
Aleksandar Atanasijević, Serbian opposite said: “Losing concentration after we achieved our goal [advancing to semifinals] must be our Serbian factory defect.
“We shouldn’t look back though, we must concentrate on playing perfectly on Saturday with the USA or Brasil.”
The game was not devoid of controversy with questionable calls by the referee and disputes between the players.
In the third set both sides were punished with red cards and consequent point losses.
Poland will now play Italy this evening, needing just one point to put them through to the semifinals where they will face either Brazil or the undefeated United States.
