Nunez: We did what we wanted to do

Włocławek, Poland, June 12, 2016 - Both Puerto Rico and Poland qualified for WGP Group 2 Final Four in Bulgaria, but it is the guest team of Wocławek tournament who end the Preliminary Round in high spirits, as they defeated the home team 3-0.

Juan Carlos Nunez, coach of Puerto Rico: We are glad that we won in straight sets, we played almost flawless, those 12 blocks in three sets certainly helped us a lot, we worked well in defense and when the match was on, we kept putting pressure on Poland which was struggling with reception problems. We did what we wanted to do coming here to Poland – we booked our spot in the Final Four. We know we are going to have four tough matches in Bulgaria against Poland, Bulgaria and Dominican Republic, but we will do our best.

Jacek Nawrocki, coach of Poland: Every match is important for us and in each we play for a victory without checking the ranking list. We have many things to analyze and to improve. This defeat was caused by technical aspects, not tactical. We have problem with reception of situational balls and  with “touching balls” in defense. We are still exploring our possibilities as a team  and we try to prepare well all technical elements, because I don’t have any tactical problems with the girls. We are going to fight at the Final Four in Bulgaria.

Yarimar Rosa, captain of Puerto Rico: Last week in Zielona Gora we made a lot of mistakes in match against Poland and this time we were able to reduce them and thanks to that it was easier to beat Poland this time. We were very consistent and we played very well in reception. Good reception was the key, because it enabled everyone in the team to be involved in the game. Our goal for the Final Four is to advance to Group 1, but first we need to improve our consistence, we need to have a good serve and reception, because then we can count on every player not only one or two – we need all of them to win with the teams on a high level. Sometimes we start well and then we become too relaxed which causes some problems, so we need to work on our consistence in the next matches. We love to play in Poland, because fans are really respectful and they enjoy volleyball. It doesn’t matter who is playing, they just enjoy matches, so we enjoyed each chance to play in Poland. 

Joanna Wołosz, captain of Poland: We are happy with our qualification to the Final Four. The plan is fulfilled, but today’s loss spoiled the atmosphere a bit. There was a fight, but Puerto Rico controlled the match. We played without the aggression and we lost the power from previous games. Now we have a while to catch our breath and we will start the preparation for the final tournament.