The quarterfinals of the 2022 Men's Volleyball World Championship were held in Gliwice, Poland on the 8th, with Poland and the United States, who were in the same pool in the preliminaries, facing off again.
With over 12,000 spectators watching, Poland, the home team, took the first two sets in a row, but the United States then took back the two sets and the match went to full sets. In the end, Poland, powered by the cheers of their fans, regained momentum and won 3-2 (25-20, 27-25, 21-25, 22-25, 15-12), securing their place in the semi-finals.
Bartosz Kurek (Poland)
-What do you think was the reason you were able to make a comeback in the fifth set?
Teamwork. Think about how many changes the coach made in this game. All of those players contributed to this win. So teamwork, definitely teamwork. It wasn't one person that was special. No, we worked together from start to finish to get it done.
--Unfortunately, the Japanese team lost, but I think many Japanese fans, especially Wolfdogs Nagoya fans, are rooting for the Polish team.
Thank you! I hope all the Japanese fans are following the tournament and wishing the Polish team the best of luck. I will be returning to Japan as soon as the tournament is over. Of course, my mind is on the tournament right now, but I'm already thinking about the next club season.
Aaron Russell (USA)
-What are your thoughts looking back on the match?
It was a very long and tough match. Usually you don't win 3-4 sets in a row and then lose the 5th set, but Poland played really well in front of their fans. They knew they could come back stronger in the 5th set and that's why they put in such a good performance to hold us off.
-Looking back on the tournament as a whole, what do you think?
I think it paid off. We had some very tough matches and we showed the fighting spirit to keep going even when the matches were tough. We were definitely trying to play better. But the team had injuries. You could see that a lot of the players were a little slow and clumsy. They were accepting that they couldn't serve well, defend well, etc. to a certain extent, but that's not a positive thing for our future.
--Russell, I think you personally performed very well throughout the tournament. What do you think?
The team needed me, so I tried to play hard and score points.
- Next is Japan.
Yes. I am very much looking forward to joining JT's training. See you in Japan!
Photo: FIVB
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