Poland Secures VNL Bronze at Home

VNL 2025

The European team defeated Japan 3-1, marking their third consecutive podium finish in the tournament.

Published 04:24, 27 Jul 2025

Polish players celebrate with their bronze medals.

Poland secured their third consecutive bronze medal in the Volleyball Nations League on Sunday. This latest achievement was particularly significant as it unfolded before their enthusiastic home crowd in Łódź, the host city for the VNL 2025 Finals.

After a disappointing semifinal loss to Olympic champions Italy, where they were swept, the Polish team returned to the Atlas Arena with renewed determination. They triumphed over Japan with a commanding 3-1 victory (25-15, 24-26, 25-16, 25-23), solidifying their position as a dominant force in the tournament. The highly anticipated gold medal match between Italy and Brazil was scheduled for 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

This bronze medal victory, witnessed by 10,000 passionate fans in Łódź, marks Poland as only the sixth national team to secure three medals across the first seven editions of the VNL. They now stand alongside volleyball powerhouses such as Brazil (silver in 2019, 2021, 2022, and guaranteed gold/silver in 2025), Italy (gold in 2022, 2024, and guaranteed gold/silver in 2025), the United States (gold in 2018, 2019, 2021), Türkiye (gold in 2023, silver in 2018, bronze in 2021), and China (silver in 2023, bronze in 2018, 2019).

“It’s fantastic for us to have won a medal here in Łódź and there’s a lot of emotions going on now,” head coach Stefano Lavarini reacted. “Since I started coaching Poland, every year we’ve played here and the atmosphere has always been fantastic, just like this week. I’m very happy that we got to thank our fans with a medal this time.”

Magdalena Stysiak, the star opposite, spearheaded the Polish attack in the VNL bronze medal match, achieving a game-high 18 points (16 kills, 2 blocks). Captain and middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk delivered an exceptional performance, tallying 16 points from an impressive eight blocks and eight kills. Outside hitters Martyna Czyrńianska and Martyna Łukasic also reached double-digit scores with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

“We didn’t play in the way we wanted in the last match, and that was really hard for us, so we were even more focused today,” libero Aleksandra Szczygłowska said. “I’m really happy that somehow, we overcame the situation and were able to win. We also did it for our fans, it’s incredible to play in front of them, I can’t even describe it. We’ll celebrate it now, but we know we still have a lot of work to do and many areas where we can improve.”

Both Poland and Japan finished the match with an equal number of kills (52) and aces (two). However, the Europeans demonstrated clear superiority in blocking (15 to 2) and capitalized on more opponent errors (30 to 24), ultimately securing their victory.

For Japan, veteran middle blocker Haruyo Shimamura was their leading scorer in the bronze medal match, contributing 15 points (13 kills, two blocks). Team captain and outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa followed with 12 points, all from kills.

Following the VNL, both the Polish and Japanese teams will now focus on their training and ongoing preparations for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship, scheduled to take place in Thailand from August 22 to September 7.