Poland's national volleyball team swept Ukraine 3-0 at the European Volleyball Championship, extending their unbeaten run in the tournament to four straight wins. Ukraine arrived at the match with a perfect record, having beaten every opponent so far, including a surprise 3-1 win over Bulgaria that had raised hopes of a tough contest for Poland.
On court, though, the gap between the two sides was clear.
Poland dominate after tight opening set
Ukraine matched Poland for parts of the first set before Poland pulled away to win it 25-20.
Poland then produced their best volleyball of the match in the second set, overwhelming Ukraine 25-13 as coach Nikola Grbić's team took full control.
The third set brought the closest fight of the night. Ukraine stayed in touch and tried to push the match further, but Poland again proved stronger at the key moments, winning 25-22 to close out the match in straight sets. It was Poland's fourth win of this year's European Championship.
Ukraine's Shchurov: 'best team in the world'
Ukraine's middle blocker Vladyslav Shchurov did not hide his disappointment after the final point. He praised Poland's quality but said his team had a lot to review after such a clear defeat.
Speaking to Suspilne Sport, Shchurov said it was not without reason that Poland were the best team in the world, adding that it was hard to say much right after the match because the emotions were entirely negative. He said the whole squad needed to sit down once things had cooled down, think everything through and work out what had gone wrong that day.
Shchurov did not look for excuses, saying his team had known exactly what they were up against. He said nobody had told them it would be easy, that they knew where they were going and who they would be playing, and that what had happened had happened, with the hardest part still ahead. He said the team needed to draw conclusions and move forward with a clear head, focused on the matches still to come.
What's next
Ukraine's involvement in the group stage is now over. Poland still have one more group match to play, against Bulgaria, scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, at 18:00.
