VNL 2026

Stysiak over the 1,200-point milestone as Poland open week two with win over Bulgaria

Poland and Canada earn three points each in Bangkok as women’s VNL gets back into action

Published 12:36, 17 Jun 2026

Bulgaria (BUL) vs. Poland (POL) - Pool 6 - Preliminary Phase #107674357

Poland’s Magdalena Stysiak celebrates with her teammates

Poland’s star opposite Magdalena Stysiak’s first match in the women’s Volleyball Nations League was decorated not only with a straight-set win over Bulgaria, but also with an individual milestone. The 2.03m-tall striker hit the mark of 1,200 points scored in the VNL.

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To reach the 1,200 VNL points milestone, Stysiak needed to score just two points in Wednesday’s game against Bulgaria. She did much better than that and contributed nine points towards the convincing 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-23) shutout. Her tally included seven spike kills, one ace and one kill block. With a total of 1,207 points so far, Stysiak is number four in the all-time VNL scorers ranking, behind Turkiye’s Ebrar Karakurt with 1,328 points, Belgium’s Britt Herbots with 1,303, and Dominican Republic’s Brayelin Martinez with 1,254.

“I didn’t find my rhythm, to be honest. I really hate how I played today, but it’s OK,” Stysiak told VBTV after the match. “We won this first game 3-0, so this is the most important thing. Personally, I need a little more time to come back and be at a hundred per cent. Just to be with the girls and give good energy – this is the most important now.”

Poland outplayed Bulgaria in attack by 39-36 in spike kills and in net defense by 8-7 in kill blocks, but it was the unforced errors that made the big difference in the match, with the central Europeans committing only nine of those against as many as 24 from their southern European opponents, the youngest team in VNL 2026.

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Outside hitter Julita Piasecka put away a team-high 12 points towards Poland’s win, while 19-year-old middle blocker Maja Koput added 10 points, including three stuffs and an ace. Bulgaria’s 20-year-old opposite Mikaela Stoyanova was the best scorer of the game with 13 points, including two blocks and an ace. Also two blocks and an ace, middle Borislava Saykova reached the double digits with a total of 10 points for Bulgaria.

Poland showed a dominant performance, but their straight-set win came at a risk, in the money time of the third set, when Bulgaria scored six points in a row to take a 23-22 lead. However, the bronze medalists of the previous three VNL editions and current number three in the FIVB World Ranking kept their cool and finally reacted with three in a row to close the match and register their fourth win of the season, improving to 10 points. Bulgaria, on the other hand, stand on a 1-4 win-loss record and 3 points.

“Big congratulations to our team! After the first week, we stayed and trained in China and that wasn’t so easy for us, and the first game of the second leg in VNL is never easy to play!” said Stysiak. “Big congratulations to the Bulgarian team as well! They fought so much. So, in the end, I am so happy! Because three points is three points. We are still missing a lot, but slowly we are getting back to our good volleyball.”

Earlier in the day, in the first match on the Bangkok program, Canada came back from a set down against the Netherlands to produce a 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-20) victory and improve to 3-2 and 10, while the Dutch dropped to 2-3 and 6. The North Americans picked up 9.99 World Ranking points with this result and moved one spot up the chart overtaking Serbia in ninth place. Canadian opposite Kiera Van Ryk fired a remarkable six aces towards a solid 26-point total. Her match-high tally also featured three kill blocks. Van Ryk stopped just three points short of reaching her 1,000-point milestone in the VNL, but set herself in a perfect position to hit that mark next time she is expected on the court on Friday. Canada’s middle blocker and captain Emily Maglio registered a 60% success rate in attack and also scored in the double digits with 11 points, while 22-year-old opposite Elles Dambrink was Netherlands’ leading scorer with 13 points, including three blocks and an ace.