Canada pushed host Poland to a fifth and deciding set at the FIVB Women’s World Volleyball Championship on Friday, but ran out of gas much to the delight of 10,000 screaming fans in Lodz, Poland.
Poland won the opening set of the best-of-five match 25-18, but Canada stormed back with 25-19 and 25-16 wins. Poland won the fourth set 25-23 and then won the fifth set 15-5.
“We were able to put Poland under a lot of pressure and that’s what saw us through to a fifth set,” said head coach Shannon Winzer. “Our performance in the fifth set is not a reflection of how we played that game. We had a strong showing against a very strong side.
" Poland is playing confident volleyball right now,” added Winzer, pointing out Poland also beat the Olympic champion United States (3-0) on Wednesday.
“As much as it’s not the result we wanted, there are still a lot of positives to take from this match.”
Canada plays Dominican Republic on Saturday in its final Phase 2 contest. Canada lost 3-0 to Turkey on Wednesday and beat Thailand 3-1 on Tuesday. Canada beat Germany 3-2 on Oct. 1.