Only eight teams—four women`s and four men`s—remain to compete for medals at the U20 Snow Volleyball European Championships in Karpacz. The contenders include four teams from Poland, two from Ukraine, and one each from Italy and Türkiye.
Saturday in Karpacz, a popular resort in the Karkonosze Mountains, saw continued good weather and a growing crowd. The day featured high-stakes group stage matches to determine advancement. Poland 1`s team, composed of representatives from SMS Spała, secured a key victory, defeating Poland 3 in a tie-break. Poland 2 (Blanka Trawińska, Małgorzata Banaś, Amelia Zagwojska, and Amelia Grzegorowska) also won their first match, ensuring their spot in the next phase.
In a dramatic turn, the Poland 3 women`s team lost their group`s top spot to their compatriots from Poland 1 despite holding a five-point lead in a tie-break against Moldova. Nevertheless, all Polish women`s teams progressed from the group stage, joined by Ukraine, Moldova, and the undefeated Türkiye team.
The conditions are great, but the first matches were tough for us. With each game, we are getting used to it and performing better. Our preparation for this tournament was short and intense, but since half of our team has experience playing on snow, we knew how to position ourselves and organise our game. That helped us a lot.
Zofia Preweda and Wiktoria Leśniewicz
Poland 1
Thanks to finishing the group stage as leaders, the Poland 1 women`s team spent the rest of Saturday watching matches from the stands, waiting to know the name of their semifinal opponents.
Hours later, the semi-final matchups were set. Poland 1 will face Ukraine. In the other women`s semi-final, Türkiye will play against Poland 3, who advanced by defeating Poland 2 in straight sets in the quarterfinals. The Poland 3 players shared their journey:
Two of us attend the same school, while the third lives three hours away from Ostróda. Training together was difficult, especially since we lost our fourth player due to injury. At first, it was tough, but with each match, we got more accustomed to the conditions. Snow Volleyball is very different from Beach Volleyball – and since we play in teams of three, there are more possibilities. We came here without pressure, without expectations, and yet, here we are in the semifinals!
Emilia Żurawska, Maria Pietrin, and Wiktoria Surażyńska
Poland 3
In matches for seventh place, Poland 2 defeated Moldova in the men`s competition, while Italy overcame Armenia in the women`s.
The day concluded with two exciting men`s quarter-final matches involving Polish teams. Poland 4 (Paweł Zatoń, Damian Dudek, Szymon Wolak, and Dominik Mućka) eliminated Türkiye after a thrilling contest. Poland 3 (Filip Gierczyński, Piotr Konatkowski, Robert Kusik, and Tymon Hadryan), however, was defeated by Ukraine`s top team.
The semi-final pairings are now confirmed: In the women`s bracket, Poland 1 plays Ukraine, and Poland 3 faces Türkiye. In the men`s, Poland 1 takes on Ukraine, and Italy competes against Poland 4.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Sunday, March 9, starting at 10:10 am. The bronze medal matches and finals will follow, with the women`s final at 2:20 pm and the men`s at 3:00 pm.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood