The Polish men`s national volleyball team has once again ascended to the pinnacle of the sport, claiming the 2025 Volleyball Nations League title. In a decisive final match held in Ningbo, Poland delivered a comprehensive sweep against Italy, securing their second VNL gold medal, following their triumph in 2023. This victory also marks Poland`s sixth consecutive podium finish in the tournament. Their performance in the Finals was flawless, as they navigated through three matches without losing a single set. For Italy, this silver medal represents their first-ever podium finish in the history of the men`s VNL.
The final began with a competitive first set, where Poland maintained control for the majority, eventually clinching it 25-22 thanks to a powerful hit from outside hitter Kamil Semeniuk. The second set saw Italy struggle significantly due to an incorrect rotation lineup, leading to a convincing 25-19 defeat.
Despite correcting their lineup for the third set, Italy found no reprieve. The Polish team was in exceptional form, delivering a completely one-sided performance to seal an emphatic 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-19, 25-14). Middle blocker Szymon Jakubiszak delivered the match-winning point with a blistering first-tempo kill.
Poland showcased their superiority across key scoring metrics: outperforming Italy in spike kills (37-27), committing fewer unforced errors (18-25, indicating Italy made more errors), excelling in kill blocks (10-6), and serving with more aces (4-3).
Cuban-born star outside hitter Wilfredo Leon proved to be an outstanding asset for Poland, stepping up brilliantly in place of the injured Tomasz Fornal. Leon was the top scorer of the gold medal match, tallying 16 points, including a kill block. His teammate, outside hitter Kamil Semeniuk, contributed another 14 points, with one block and an ace. Middle blocker and captain Jakub Kochanowski also shone, boasting a 71% attack success rate and adding seven points, including two kill blocks. On the Italian side, outside hitter Daniele Lavia was the sole player to reach double digits, scoring 11 points, which included two blocks and an ace.
After the awards ceremony, Wilfredo Leon shared his emotions: “This means a lot! I know that they were waiting for my comeback to play at a high level, so I tried to do my best. I told them, `I will not leave you alone, guys! Fornal got injured, but I will be there!` I did my best! So, we got the gold medal and I am really happy and proud! We have so many stars, but we try to be together as much as possible. We understand each other, we support each other, and this is the key to our success. Also, I want to thank my family! They give me a lot of support. At the World Championship, I expect to have more games like today and another trophy. Continue watching our games and support Poland!”
Poland`s Serbian coach, Nikola Grbic, also commented on the victory: “I am really proud! We had so many injuries from the start of the preparation. We had an important one now. We lost a very important player at a very crucial moment. So, I think we will have to go to church to pray for these injuries to be over. The second thing is that many players played for the first time. So, I can just be proud of these guys – how much they put up with: with me, with my demands, with how I pushed them to be better… I know it’s not easy, because if it were easy, everybody would do it. And now we have to do it all over again. We reset and start preparations for the World Championship next Monday. This can be very dangerous, because now, if you are not careful, you may think that you are amazing and that you don’t need to push yourself any further. So, now we have to go back to the gym and push ourselves…”
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick