Poland's women's volleyball team beat Latvia 3-1 at the European Championship in Istanbul on Monday, but the performance left fans with more worry than relief despite the win.
The fifth-ranked Poles were overwhelming favourites against Latvia, who sit 64th in the FIVB world rankings and were playing their first European Championship in 29 years. Yet Poland dropped a set and repeatedly squandered multi-point leads, a pattern that raised fresh doubts about the team's readiness to reach the tournament's medal stage, which coach Stefano Lavarini's side is targeting.
Poland had opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Hungary on Saturday. Monday's victory came without libero Aleksandra Szczygłowska, who was left out of the squad because of a health problem that Polsat Sport commentators described as nothing serious. Justyna Łysiak deputised for her at libero, while attacker Magdalena Stysiak took over as captain.
Stysiak and the team struggle to score
Stysiak, one of the team's leaders in recent years, had already struggled for efficiency against Hungary on Saturday, and nothing changed two days later. Latvia repeatedly dug out balls she smashed, and she also sent several attacks straight into the net. She was taken out of the lineup for a period after the first set.
The lack of attacking edge was not Stysiak's problem alone, as her teammates also struggled, which was largely why Poland kept surrendering leads of several points instead of pulling away.
With the score at 14-13 in the opening set, after Poland had lost three points in a row, Polsat Sport commentator Marek Magiera said strange things were happening on Poland's side. Poland then lost another point, prompting Lavarini to call his first timeout of the match. He told his players that Latvia were not doing anything extraordinary, simply taking advantage of Poland's inability to convert attacks.
Against Hungary, Poland had been praised for their display in the opening set, with the uneven play that had troubled them throughout this year's Nations League only surfacing in the following two sets. This time the wobbles started from the first set, played out in a largely empty arena in Istanbul.
Latvia's reserves dance on the sideline
Latvia's approach to the tournament and the match was clearest whenever they trailed by several points. Their reserve players danced and enjoyed themselves on the sideline even while their team was behind. Minutes later, though, Latvia were celebrating a set win over Poland.
Lavarini's substitutions only worked briefly. Neither Julia Szczurowska, who came on for Stysiak, nor Alicja Grabka, who replaced Katarzyna Wenerska, nor Martyna Czyrniańska, who took over from Julita Piasecka, could stop Poland losing that set.
Six straight points lost
Searching for a solution, Lavarini started the third set with Stysiak and Grabka before bringing Czyrniańska back on, but the trouble returned on a large scale. At 8-9, Poland lost six points in a row, evoking the team's darkest moments, ones fans had hoped were behind them, while an inspired Latvia followed their coach's advice to enjoy themselves.
Poland's response in that set came almost at the last moment. Trailing 10-18, the Poles fought back to level at 19-19 and then finally did what had been expected of them from the start of the match, dominating the closing stages. Czyrniańska, who is still working her way back to form after health problems and a long break from playing, played a big part in the turnaround.
Poland avoided such a heavy collapse in the fourth set but still could not pull clear of Latvia, and even had to overturn a deficit late on, trailing 22-23 before closing out the match. It was little surprise that after the final point, Poland's fans felt relief above all else.
Slovenia up next
Poland face Slovenia on Tuesday, and after what Lavarini's team has shown so far in Istanbul, it is hard not to worry about how they will fare in that match and the rest of the European Championship, especially with their toughest opponents in the first stage of the tournament, including Turkey, still to come.
