Cuba staged an impressive comeback victory over Poland in a five-set thriller Friday on the opening day of the women's volleyball World Grand Prix.

Going down two sets, the Cubans rallied to win by a scoreline of 18-25, 25-27, 25-15, 25-16 in one hour and 50 minutes at the Beilun Sports and Arts Center in Ningbo.

Nancy Carrillo was the top scorer for Cuba with 28 points, while Milena Rosner led the Polish team with 14 points.

The Cubans looked sluggish and committed too many errors in the first two sets, but they were in complete command from the third set on back of overwhelming attacks.

When asked why his team looked totally different after the second set, Cuba coach Felipe Calderon said: "When trailing 2-0 in sets, I told my players that the match might decide whether we could qualify for the World Grand Prix finals, and they have to put more focus in court."

Cuba, who was ranked sixth in the 12-team World Grand Prix qualifying round prior to the Ningbo leg, needed at least a win to make to the finals, which run from Sept. 6-10 in Reggio Calabria, Italy.

Poland's assistant coach Ireneusz Klos rued missing the opportunity of claiming their first victory in this year's Grand Prix.

"After the first two sets, I really hoped that we could win the match. But, unfortunately, the Cubans played much better thereafter," Klos said.

Poland, the 2003 and 2005 European champion, was winless so far after playing seven matches in the Grand Prix qualifying round.

China faces Azerbaijan later in the day.

Source: Xinhua