Poland, U.S. claim opening victories at men's volleyball worlds

Alsharq Tribune-AFP 

World No.1 Poland registered its opening victory in the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship here on Saturday, as it put down its marker for the title race with a 3-0 victory over Romania.

Poland survived from an early scare as Romania had led the first set 24-23, but the runner-up of the 2022 worlds held its nerve to turn it around 34-32.

In the following sets, Romania dropped its intensity and was error-prone, while Poland showed its strength and sealed the win 25-15 and 25-19.

Poland's Wilfredo Leon Venero had a game-high of 14 points, while Bartosz Kurek added 13 points.

With the win, Poland ranks first in Group B and will next take on Qatar, who suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands on Saturday.

The United States, Paris Olympic bronze medalist, also got off to a good start as it dominated Colombia 25-20, 25-21, 25-14 in Group D.

Led by their star setter and captain Micah Christenson, the outside hitter Ethan Champlin leads the American team with 17 points, while opposite Gabriel Garcia registered another 12 points.

"I thought it was a good start," Christenson said. "It was the first time for a lot of our guys in a World Championship match, and I think we didn't have many ups and downs. Colombia had some good moments during the match, and we showed some maturity to deal with them."

Elsewhere in Group D, Portugal came out of an early hole to shock Cuba 3-1, celebrating its first World Championship win in almost 23 years.

In Group B, Bulgaria started its campaign on the right foot by sweeping Germany aside 3-0, including a thrilling 40-38 in the first set, while Slovenia eased past Chile 3-0.

Also on Saturday, Türkiye stunned Japan 3-0 in Group G, while Canada turned around Libya 3-1.