WARSAW, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Hala Orbita Indoor Arena in Wroclaw came to life on Friday when Poland defeated Puerto Rico in straight sets in Pool A of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) women's Olympic qualification tournament.

In a thrilling encounter, Serbia beat Thailand 25-15, 25-22, 25-18.

Soon after, hosts Poland inched closer to securing a spot in Tokyo after beating Puerto Rico in an intense, paced match, 25-18, 30-28, 25-15.

Despite a patchy first half, when Poland made several trivial mistakes, the home team oozed with confidence towards a large home crowd.

The qualification tournament includes six pools of four teams being staged in a round-robin format across the globe until Sunday. Only the highest-placed team from each of the pools will earn a place at Tokyo 2020. As hosts, Japan qualified automatically.

The Pool A, being contested in Wroclaw, features Poland, Thailand, Puerto Rico and Serbia.

The four teams are back on the court Saturday evening when Serbia takes on Puerto Rico, whilst Thailand plays Poland.

The tournament concludes on August 4.