Saitama, Japan, November 21, 2006: Poland extended their Pool A winning streak with a fourth consecutive straight-sets victory at Saitama Super Arena on Tuesday afternoon.
The world No. 8 improved their win-loss record to a perfect 4-0 by holding off Puerto Rico 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 with another impressive all-round performance.
Puerto Rico won their opening match here, 3-2 against Argentina, but have now lost three in a row and must win their last match against China to stand a chance of finishing in the top four and staying in the tournament.
Poland won the first set 25-22, and not without a few problems from Puerto Rico's points machine Hector Soto and left-handed spiker Jose Rivera. Soto had eight points alone in the first set to take him over the 100-point barrier, having gone into the match with 95 from his first three outings.
Poland's power at the net proved decisive in the closing stages, as Daniel Plinski and Lukasz Kadziewicz both struck with their customary efficiency to keep the Poles in front.
At 24-21, Poland had three set points. Soto saved the first one, but Plinski closed out the opening frame at the net, 25-22.
In the second set, Soto used his excellent command of the more colourful aspects of the English language to protest one Polish point, following an athletic dig by libero Piotr Gacek, as the Europeans held a two-point cushion at the first TTO.
On the resumption, Victor Rivera won points for Puerto Rico on block and attack, before the brilliance of Mariusz Wlazly on Poland's right took his team to 12-8 and prompted a Puerto Rico TO. First he scored with a clean spike through the defence, and then with another blistering attack that was blocked but flew out on the opposite side of the court.
Poland could not maintain the momentum, and when Puerto Rico setter Angel Perez blocked Sebastian Swiderski and Wlazly fired wide on the next point to make it 13-13, Poland now needed a break. Swiderski would soon get his revenge, blocking Soto on the Polish left.
The Poles were in command if not their usual fluid selves, and when Kadziewicz swatted an easy spike wide he hit the net in frustration before walking off for the second TTO with Puerto Rico holding a one-point advantage. Kadziewicz made amends shortly after with a fine block on Puerto Rico captain Luis Rodriguez at the centre of the net.
The Poles now showed their quality and stepped it up at the critical time. Swiderski produced a trademark spike on the left and Wlazly pounded another unstoppable winner from the right, 25-22 and 2-0.
In the third set, Poland had to play catch-up in the early stages. Down 9-6 they withdrew Swiderski from the attack, but still trailed by three at the second TTO. Enrique Escalante read a delicate tip from Michal Winiarski for a block point, and a Victor Rivera serve tempted two Polish defenders to receive, but neither did.
Shortly after, Escalante sent a serve fizzing down the middle for 18-15, and Poland's Argentine head coach Raul Lozano took them off to try and sort out his back-court defence.
Trailing 21-18, Wlazly closed the gap to one point with consecutive spikes from right and left, and Poland went on to win the third set 25-23 on their first match point following a wild spike from Victor Rivera and poor serve reception on Plinski's gentle delivery to the front court.
