Poland rebound and take world champions Italy down

Poland had arguably their best performance in the Volleyball Nations League 2023 on Sunday, the last day of the second week of the Preliminary Phase, and secured their sixth victory in the tournament.

Coming from a difficult three-set loss to the United States the day before, the Poles responded in a very strong way, taking reigning world champions Italy down 3-1 (25-19, 28-26, 18-25, 25-20) to firmly stay on their path to making an appearance at the 2023 VNL Finals.

• Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV

The victory against the Italians, who less than a year ago ended the Polish dream of a three-peat at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship with a win in the gold medal match, has propelled the Poles to fourth place in the VNL 2023 standings with six victories and 14 points – Italy, who were on a five-match winning streak entering the encounter, are seventh with five wins and 15 points.

Polish captain and star opposite Bartosz Kurek was unstoppable offensively, leading all scorers with 20 points and getting his entire production in kills. Pleased by the support of the thousands of Polish fans that made the trip to Rotterdam, he was happy about the team’s attitude on the court against the world champions.

“We entered this match knowing that we couldn’t afford to do what we did against the USA, which is to let our opponent get going,” Kurek commented. “We did it a little bit on the third set, but fortunately we came back on the fourth. We have a lot of trust in each other and we know that when we step on the court, we’ll be ready to fight until the end. It was an excellent victory. Against a team like Italy, we had to be patient, remain concentrated and never put our heads down.”

Star outside hitter Wilfredo Leon, with 16 points (14 kills, two aces), middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski, with 14 (eight kills, two aces, four blocks), and outside hitter Tomasz Fornal, with 12 (11 kills, one block), all had major contributions to the Polish victory too.

Italy’s most productive players in the match were outside hitter Daniele Lavia and opposite Yuri Romanò, with 18 points each, and outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto, who delivered 14.

It was an even match in every aspect, with no team having an edge superior to three points in any statistical category. The Poles were slightly more productive in kills (56 to 55), aces (seven to four) and opponent errors (25 to 22), while the Italians got the most blocks (nine to eight).

**Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results**

The Pool 3 calendar will be completed later on Sunday in Rotterdam, with hosts the Netherlands facing Serbia at 16:00 local time (14:00 UTC).

The third and final week of the VNL 2023 Preliminary Phase will be held from July 4-9, with matches taking place in Anaheim, USA, and Pasay City, the Philippines.

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