A head-to-head clash between first-placed Poland and second-placed United States will highlight the Pool 5 tournament in Suwon, Korea of the third competition week in the women’s Volleyball Nations League 2023. It will be the week’s opening game for both teams as they lock horns on Wednesday at 15:30 local time (06:30 UTC). This is the last competition week of the Preliminary Phase and it will answer all the questions related to who qualifies for the Finals in Arlington, USA and which challenger team will face relegation.
VNL 2023
VNL leaders Poland and USA head to head in Suwon’s highlight
The Preliminary Phase’s last competition week about to get underway
Published 02:20, 26 Jun 2023
- Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV
Poland lead the current standings on a 7-1 win-loss record and 20 points, a point clear of the United States, who are also on 7-1. Later in the week, the Polish team, featuring the tournament’s best blocker so far, Agnieszka Korneluk, and the second best scorer, Magdalena Stysiak, will also meet Germany on Thursday, Bulgaria on Friday and hosts Korea on Sunday without any changes to the squad from the previous week. Meanwhile, the Americans’ schedule includes games against Bulgaria, Germany and China.
While as tournament hosts, USA already have a guaranteed spot at the Finals, Poland need just one more win to mathematically book their tickets to Arlington as well.
Skład na 3️⃣ turniej #VNL2023 pozostaje bez zmian. Oby niezmienna pozostała też świetna forma naszych siatkarek 💪🏻 Przypominamy, że po ośmiu meczach zajmujemy 1️⃣ miejsce w tabeli rozgrywek 😎 pic.twitter.com/dhBcfBcDAu
— POLSKA SIATKÓWKA (@PolskaSiatkowka) June 26, 2023
In another high-level clash on Wednesday, at 19:00 (10:00), mighty China will take on reigning world champions Serbia. Against Chinese outside hitter Li Yingying, the tournament’s third best scorer so far, and her teammates, coach Giovanni Guidetti will be able to rely on the stellar duo of playmaker Maja Ognjenovic and opposite Tijana Boskovic, who are joining his squad for the first time this season, with the clear intention to help Serbia advance to the Finals.
While China, standing fourth on 6-2 and 18, and with games against Dominican Republic on Friday, Korea on Saturday and USA on Sunday, can be more comfortable about their chances of finishing among the top eight, their southern European opponents, on 3-5 and 10, are currently the first below the cut-off line, in ninth place. In Suwon, Serbia will also meet Germany on Friday, Dominican Republic on Saturday and Balkan neighbours Bulgaria on Sunday.
“We are happy about our tournament in Brazil, where we had three victories and one loss (3-2 against Brazil), but what was important to me besides the results, was to see the team improving,” Guidetti said upon departure for Korea. “There is a very important leg in front of us. We have a small chance to reach the Finals and we want to use it by trying to win all the matches that we can win in Korea and then we’ll see what the other opponents will do.”
Ženska seniorska reprezentacija Srbije 🇷🇸 doputovala je u Južnu Koreju, gde će odigrati četiri utakmice u okviru III sedmice Lige nacija. Nakon kratkog odmora po dolasku u Suvon, seniorke Srbije su odmah počele sa pripremama za predstojeće izazove i odradile su treninge u dvorani i teretani. 🏐
Posted by Odbojkaški savez Srbije on Monday, June 26, 2023
Germany are another team with a decent bet for the Finals that will compete in Suwon. On 6-2 and 16, they are placed sixth in the table. With the tournament’s best server so far, Hanna Orthmann, on the squad, they will play in the pool’s opening match against Dominican Republic on Tuesday at 15:30 (06:30), but it is going to get even tougher later in the week, when they also face Poland on Thursday, Serbia on Friday and USA on Saturday. German star Gyorgy Grozer’s 16-year-old daughter Leana will be part of the senior national team for the first time.
“Our biggest goal is to be able to play at this level. We've already shown that we can and now we want to confirm it again,” said Germany’s head coach Vital Heynen. “But not only do we have the most difficult opponents coming up, but in the last week all the teams come in top positions. I hope that we can surprise again...”
While the Dominicans, 11th on 3-5 and seven, have a shot at the Finals, they should also be cautious about the risk of relegation as another two challenger teams, Croatia and Bulgaria, are not that far behind. In Suwon, the Caribbean Queens will also meet Korea on Thursday, China on Friday and Serbia on Saturday.
Die 3. VNL-Woche der Frauen startet morgen (Dienstag) mit dem wichtigen Duell gegen die Dominikanische Republik: 8:30 Uhr!
— Deutscher Volleyball-Verband (@DVV_Volleyball) June 26, 2023
Alle Spiele live bei @volleyballworld -TV!
Let’s go Team! #volleyball #vnl #nationsleague #teamdeutschland #nationalteam #kempasports #kempa pic.twitter.com/6hH8UxVAxo
Bulgaria are the team under the greatest threat of relegation. The Europeans are 15th in the standings on 1-7 and five and need to win at least one match in Suwon to have a chance for survival. They will do their best to achieve it as soon as Tuesday, when they meet winless Korea at 19:00 (10:00). It will certainly not be an easy match against the hosts for the Bulgarians, but it will get even more difficult with USA, Poland and Serbia coming up as the next opponents on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Koreans will also do their best to earn their first win as they face Bulgaria. In their remaining three matches, they will take on Dominican Republic on Thursday, China on Saturday and Poland on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the other eight VNL 2023 participants will compete in the Pool 6 matches in Bangkok, Thailand.
The VNL Preliminary Phase features three competition weeks per gender, with each of the 16 teams playing a total of 12 matches. The eight best-ranked national teams in the Preliminary Phase will qualify for the Finals, which will be held in Arlington, USA from July 12 through 16, with the host country already with a guaranteed spot.
