(Photo courtesy of PNVF)
MANILA – Poland came back from two sets down to beat Thailand, 22-25, 27-29, 25-16, 25-16, 15-13, in the first game of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Thursday triple-header at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here.
After engaging in a tight battle with Thailand in the first two sets only to fall short, Poland displayed dominance in Sets 3 and 4 to force the deciding set.
The fifth set went down the wire again, but Poland displayed poise in the end to complete the reverse sweep against Thailand.
Olivia Rozanski led Poland, which tied their victims at 4-2 in the standings, with 20 points on 17 attacks, two blocks, and one ace.
Martyna Czyrnianska and Weronika Szlagowska each added 18 points.
Chatchu-On Moksri fired 26 points on 20 attacks, five blocks, and one ace to lead Thailand, which owns the tiebreaker over Poland as they have 12 points against their opponents' 10.
Canada bounces back
After losing to Thailand in three straight sets on Tuesday, Canada bounced back and Canada banked on an aggressive outing from Alexa Gray and Kiera Van Ryk to take down Belgium in four sets, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 in another game.
Gray fired 24 points on 23 attacks including crucial spikes to help the Canadians close out the Belgians.
Van Ryk tallied 22 points on 20 attacks and two aces to backstop Gray in scoring for Canada, which moved up to 3-3 in the team standings.
Britt Herbots' 29-point bomb went down the drain as Belgium fell to 1-5. (PNA)
