Poland finished on top at the 2016 Volleyball Olympic World Qualification Tournament. The tournament also doubled as the Asian qualifier. In total eight teams (4 Asian, 2 European, 1 North American and 1 South American) competed in a round robin tournament where the top Asian team and the top three overall teams qualified to the Olympics. The Volleyball Olympic World Qualification Tournament was held in Tokyo, Japan from May 28th to June 5th 2016.
The first day of matches almost saw an upset where Canada forced Poland to a fifth set. Poland was able to win the set 15-9 to win the match 3-2. The second set of matches saw Canada and France take 2-0 leads over Iran and Poland respectively only for those nations to come back and win the match 3-2. China was able to grab an upset and defeat Japan in straight sets.
After a day of break play resumed again and this time Canada ended up on the winning end of a 3-2 match where they won against Australia despite being down 2-1 at one point. Iran lost its perfect record to France by losing to them in straight sets leaving Poland as the only undefeated team. That undefeated record was put to the test against China where they were down 2-0, but were able to force a fifth set and win it 15-10. Poland would go on to seal its place to the Olympics on the fifth day of matches with a straight sets win over Venezuela. Also on the fifth day Japan's poor performance continued with a 3-0 loss to Australia while Iran and China went to a fifth set with Iran winning 18-16.
On the sixth day of matches Iran qualified to the Olympics as the best Asian team as they handed Poland their only loss in the tournament, winning in a 3-1 match. France also qualified to the Olympic with a narrow 3-2 victory over Venezuela while Australia kept its Olympic qualification hopes alive with a 3-1 win over China. Going into the final day Australia, Canada and China all had a chance at qualifying. The big match was between Canada and China. Canada won the first set, but China came back and took a 2-1 set lead. Canada would go on to force a fifth set and grab the 3-2 win after winning the set 15-9. Canada however, needed Australia to lose to Poland in the final game. Poland would grant that by winning the match 3-0 to win the overall title and give Canada the spot to the Olympics.
One more spot remains for the men's indoor tournament which will be filled out later today. Overall the top teams qualified, but Canada was really made to work for it as they had to endure four 3-2 matches.
FIVB. Men's World Qualification Tournament Results. Access on June 5 2016.