China lose to Poland in FIVB Women's Nations League in Beijing

China suffered their first loss at the FIVB Women's Nations League in Beijing on Thursday, falling to Poland 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21) in a tightly contested match at the National Indoor Stadium.

Poland opposite Magdalena Stysiak and outside hitter Martyna Czyrnianska each scored 20 points to fire their team to victory. Captain and middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk added 17, while fellow middle blocker Aleksandra Gryka had 12.

After dropping a closely fought opening set, China responded with a spirited performance in the second, making lineup adjustments and gaining momentum through effective blocking and fast-paced attacks. Outside hitters Tang Xin and Wu Mengjie played key roles as the team leveled the scores at one set apiece.

Zhuang Yushan scored a team-high 17 points, Wu earned 13 points, while Tang contributed 12 points overall, including seven in the second set alone.

"At the beginning, I felt I performed even better than I did in training," 21-year-old Tang said. "But later on, I got a bit too excited and started to lose focus. Poland adjusted quickly, especially in the third set – their blockers began targeting me more directly, and I had trouble adapting."

The third set saw both teams battle point-for-point early on, but Poland pulled ahead midway with solid defense and consistent execution, eventually taking it 25-19. In the fourth, China made a strong start, racing into a 3-0 lead, but Poland quickly turned the tide with a 14-10 advantage and maintained a narrow lead down the stretch. Despite China's late push to save a match point, Poland closed out the set 25-21 to seal their second straight win in Beijing.

"We're very happy with this win," Poland's head coach Stefano Lavarini said. "Coming into the match, we knew it would be difficult, even though we only had a few recent matches to study this 'new' Chinese team. Still, we could tell that their players have incredible quality. The younger players may lack experience, but they've already shown great technique, talent, and character."

Lavarini noted that the second set slipped away due to a drop in serving quality and missed opportunities in attack, especially against single blocks. However, he added that in the third set, his team regained its rhythm by stabilizing service and playing with more consistency.

"We tried to get back to the level we had in the first set. In the fourth set," Lavarini explained. "China changed many players, so we made some tactical adjustments as well – especially in how we adapted to their different middle blockers and attackers."

With the result, Poland improved to 2-0 in the current leg, while China dropped to 1-1. Both teams will have a rest day on Friday before returning to action over the weekend.