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Poland came back from a set down to claim a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22) victory over Bulgaria in the Pool A opener at the women’s continental Olympic qualifier in Apeldoorn. In a very hard-fought first set, Bulgarian captain Elitsa Vasileva made the difference with two kill blocks and seven successful spikes, the last of which finished it off at 25-23.

Two aces in a row by Magdalena Stysiak gave Poland a 10-7 lead in the third set. Stysiak and Malwina Smarzek-Godek were on fire in offence to keep their team in control before another ace by the 19-year-old spiker ended the set at 25-20 to level the match. Another two consecutive aces, this time by Natalia Medrzyk, gave Poland their first lead in the third set at 9-8. Good reception gave Joanna Wolosz plenty of options to organise the Polish offence and help break away to a 25-19 win.

Poland’s aggressive spiking created a lot of digging work for Bulgarian libero Zhana Todorova in the fourth set, but her fantastic play in defence was only good enough to help wipe out a six-point deficit and level the score at 18-18. Poland regained control and, continuing to dominate at the net, went on to close the match at 25-22 with Smarzek hitting the winner. She became the best scorer of the game with 24 points to her name.