Poland showed why they are the No. 1 ranked team in the world after scoring a 25-17, 25-19, and 25-18 sweep of Japan at the close of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Philippines leg on Sunday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Poles pounced on the Japanese from the opening set and kept them at bay for a cruising victory as they wrapped up their campaign at 10-2, including a perfect 4-0 campaign in the Philippine leg, to tie Japan with a similar record.
Wilfredo Leon Venero tallied 16 points on 10 hits, three blocks, and three aces to spearhead Poland. Lukasz Kaczmarek and Aleksander Sliwka added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
“It’s important for us to keep our focus on winning to be as high as possible on the table for the finals in Poland,” Sliwka said after the match. “We’re excited to play the finals at home.”
Poland, which defeated Slovenia, Brazil, and Canada earlier this week, launched an 11-2 finishing kick in the first set to transform a 14-5 deficit into a 25-17 win that pretty much took the fight out of Japan.
The Poles were not to be stopped from there on, pulling away at 19-12 for another dominant second-set showing before doubling on the Japanese at 16-8 in the third for the clincher.
Tatsunori Otsuka, with 11 points, was the only twin-digit scorer for Japan, as ace gunner Yuki Ishikawa settled for only seven points, while crowd favorite Ran Takahashi sat out anew due to a wounded hand.
In other Sunday results, Slovenia knocked the Netherlands out of playoff contention with a 25-20, 32-30, 25-22 victory, while Canada ended their campaign with a 23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18 victory over China.
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