Montreux, Switzerland, June 10, 2017- Poland ended their 2017 Montreux Volley Masters campaign on a high note in their classification tie, Malwina Smarzek and Agnieszka Kakolewska again the star performers as they fired their side to a comprehensive 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) win over Switzerland.
The Poles went into their game looking to end their campaign on a high, and could consider themselves unfortunate not to have reached the semi-finals having been pipped to a place in the last-four by Germany and Brazil. Determined to head home with a victory, Poland exerted their dominance from the off, building an early 8-3 lead, the overbearing figures of Smarzek, Kakolewska and Zuzanna Efimienko a visible presence, the trio hitting four points each over the course of the set. A 16-9 lead established, Poland were in cruise control, and later Natalia Medrzyk hit an exquisite spike to the far end of the court which was adjudged to have stayed in to hand the Poles a 25-16 first set triumph.
The Swiss didn’t let the visitors have it their own way, and fought back in some entertaining rallies, Maja Storck their greatest threat. But her contribution paled in comparison to the domineering Smarzek, who hit ten points in the second set to ease her team into a 16-12 cushion. Poland coasted to another 25-16 set win from that position with relative ease, a closing win in sight before they took their leave of Montreux.
As has been the case throughout the tournament, Smarzek was once more in the thick of the action, her relentless influence simply refusing to fade. She’d hit four points to add to Kakolewska’s five-point contribution over the course of the set, the Poles powering into a 14-8 lead, having been 8-1 ahead at the start of the set. Smarzek came up trumps with a powerful spike to take the score to 16-9, the Poles running riot and victory seemingly inevitable. It did prove to be a case of when rather than if, much of the Polish side chipping in with points as they pressed home their advantage to seal a 25-16 third set win and a 3-0 overall victory, putting the gloss on a fine tournament, in which they can consider themselves unfortunate not to have gone any further.