By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Top-notch volleyball action heats up Tuesday when Week 2 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Women’s Leg fires off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Asian champion Japan tries to keep its unbeaten record intact when it faces Poland in the 7 p.m. nightcap while Canada and Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand seek to improve their respective 2-2 and 3-1 marks when they clash in the 3 p.m. curtain raiser.
Eight of the 16 teams are competing in this pool with the other pool being held simultaneously in Brasilia, Brazil.
The other competing squads in Quezon City are Tokyo Olympic champion United States and Bulgaria, which tangles Wednesday at 3 p.m., and China and Belgium, which collide afterwards at 7 p.m.
Japan is currently atop the leaderboard with 11 points after finishing Week 1 undefeated in four matches. They bested South Korea, Germany, Dominican Republic and the United States.
Poland, for its part, tote a 3-1 mark for eight points with their recent win over Germany, 27-25, 25-22, 14-25, 23-25, 15-7, in the United States last June 6.
Its only loss came at the expense of Brazil, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22, last June 3.
In the other pairing, Thailand hopes its exhibition match victory against Team Philippines over the weekend would keep their energy going when they collide with Canada.
The perennial Southeast Asian Games champions are also coming off a morale-boosting victory over China, 25-23, 13-25, 14-25, 25-23, 15-11, in Ankara, Turkey last June 5.
Canada, for its part, is also coming off a 25-21, 25-13, 25-16 win over South Korea in the United States last June 6.
Meanwhile, Week 2 of the VNL Men’s Leg will be happening on June 21 to 26 with Tokyo Olympics champion France, Japan, Slovenia, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and China competing.
