China suffered their first loss at the FIVB Women’s Nations League in Beijing on Thursday, falling to Poland 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21) in a tightly contested match at the National Indoor Stadium.
Poland’s opposite Magdalena Stysiak and outside hitter Martyna Czyrnianska each scored 20 points to lead their team to victory. Captain and middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk added 17 points, while middle blocker Aleksandra Gryka contributed 12.
After dropping a closely fought opening set, China responded with a spirited performance in the second. Making lineup adjustments and gaining momentum through effective blocking and fast-paced attacks, they leveled the scores at one set apiece. Outside hitters Tang Xin and Wu Mengjie played key roles, with Tang scoring seven of her 12 total points in the second set alone.
“At the beginning, I felt I performed even better than I did in training,” said the 21-year-old Tang Xin. “But later on, I got a bit too excited and started to lose focus. Poland adjusted quickly, especially in the third set—their blockers began targeting me more directly, and I had trouble adapting.”
The third set saw both teams battle point-for-point early on, but Poland pulled ahead midway with solid defense and consistent execution, eventually taking it 25-19. In the fourth, China made a strong start, racing into a 3-0 lead, but Poland quickly turned the tide and maintained a narrow lead down the stretch. Despite China’s late push to save a match point, Poland closed out the set 25-21 to seal their second straight win in Beijing.
“We’re very happy with this win,” Poland’s head coach Stefano Lavarini said. “Coming into the match, we knew it would be difficult, even though we only had a few recent matches to study this ‘new’ Chinese team. Still, we could tell that their players have incredible quality. The younger players may lack experience, but they’ve already shown great technique, talent, and character.”
Lavarini noted that the second set slipped away due to a drop in serving quality and missed opportunities in attack. However, he added that in the third set, his team regained its rhythm by stabilizing their serves and playing with more consistency. “We tried to get back to the level we had in the first set. In the fourth set, China changed many players, so we made some tactical adjustments as well—especially in how we adapted to their different middle blockers and attackers.”
With the result, Poland improved to 2-0 in the current leg, while China dropped to 1-1. Both teams will have a rest day on Friday before returning to action over the weekend.
