Poland delight over 11,000 fans in Gdansk with first-ever VNL crown

One of the most accomplished national teams in international men’s volleyball, Poland, experienced a unique moment on Sunday, when they got to celebrate their first Volleyball Nations League (VNL) title in front of over 11,000 home fans in Gdansk. The Europeans turned the electric atmosphere of the Ergo Arena into one of absolute joy with a 3-1 (25-23, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18) victory over the United States in the gold medal match of the fifth edition of the tournament that made the crowd erupt in celebration. Poland’s Pawel Zatorski became the first libero in the history of the competition to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP).

FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° passes the VNL trophy to Poland

Earlier on Sunday, Japan secured a fantastic 3-2 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 15-9) win over world champions Italy to make their first podium appearance in the VNL, finishing in third place to take bronze.

The Polish triumph in Gdansk rewards one of the most competitive national teams in VNL history as, outside from the inaugural edition, in 2018, when they came fifth, the Europeans have appeared on the podium in every season, taking silver in 2021 and bronze in 2019 and 2022 - only the Americans, their opponents in the final, have that many medals.

The victory against the Americans also highlighted the depth of the Polish roster, which has six players who helped the country win its third world title in 2018.

A backup during most of the team’s campaign, opposite Lukasz Kaczmarek replaced the injured team captain Bartosz Kurek in a great way, leading the team’s scoring efforts in the gold medal match. The 29-year-old opposite was unstoppable and became the match’s top scorer with 25 points (23 spikes, one block, one ace).

“It’s really amazing to win such an important title at home, with this atmosphere and in front of these fans,” Kaczmarek reflected. “We dedicate the victory to them because they’re the best. I didn’t expect to have such a good performance and it’s really amazing for my career. Unfortunately, Kurek had this injury and couldn’t play, but I’m happy that I could help the team and enjoy this moment. We prepared well for the Finals after a long season and now we’re in amazing shape.”

Aleksander Sliwka also played a big part in the Polish victory, producing 14 points (13 spikes, one block), while fellow outside hitter Tomasz Fornal came off the bench during the third set to replace super star Wilfredo Leon and contributed eight points (seven kills, one block) in the win.

The United States had three players reaching double digits in scoring, with outside hitter Torey Defalco leading the way with 14 points (13 spikes, one ace). Fellow outside hitter Aaron Russell, who had missed the first two matches in the Finals due to health issues, came off the bench and scored 11, with nine spikes and two blocks. Opposite Matt Anderson completed the list with ten points (nine spikes, one ace).

With great balance in blocks, where the Polish had the edge by nine to eight, and points earned in opponent errors, where they had a 24-23 advantage, the European dominance in attack kills (59 to 51) and aces (seven to three) was pivotal to their victory.

VNL 2023 silver medallists USA

Japan’s most talented generation in decades gave the country’s men’s national team its first medal in the VNL on Sunday in Gdansk. With an outstanding performance, the Asians triumphed in a dramatic five-set 3-2 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 15-9) battle against reigning world champions Italy in the bronze medal match.

The victory brought Japan back to the podium in a world-level men's international volleyball event for the first time since 2009, when the Asians claimed bronze in the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup.

The Japanese were a powerhouse in the 1960s and 70s, winning three Olympic medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze) and two bronzes in the FIVB Volleyball World Championships in that period, and may have taken the first step to becoming protagonists in the international scene again with their podium appearance in VNL 2023.

The most popular face in the Japanese team, iconic outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa, was phenomenal in the bronze medal match against the Italians. The team captain had a spectacular 21-point performance facing the world champions, getting all his points in attack, including the game winner.

“We’re so happy with this victory,” an elated Ishikawa remarked. “I’m very proud of my team because we trusted each other the entire time, we’re all very good teammates and I thanked them for that after the match. We played very well in the first two sets, but Italy were serving very tough after that and we had problems. It was a very difficult match for us, but we won it.”

VNL 2023 bronze medallists Japan

Kento Miyaura stepped up to the task of replacing the injured star opposite Yuji Nishida and also had a tremendous performance, firing an incredible seven aces to go with 12 kills in attack and one kill block in his 20-point display. Outside hitter Ran Takahashi contributed 12 points (11 spikes, one block) in the Asian triumph.

Italy were very competitive and demanded a lot from the Japanese, especially thanks to the strong match of their high-scoring trio of outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto, who got 16 points (11 spikes, four aces, one block), opposite Yuri Romano, who tallied 15 (14 spikes, one block), and outside hitter Daniele Lavia, who added 14 (11 spikes, three blocks).

The Italians dominated the blocking game, getting 13 stuffs to Japan’s four, but the Asians did a very good job of leading their opponents in attack kills (54 to 53) and aces (nine to seven) - they also benefited from more opponent errors (32 to 27) to come out on top.

Poland’s first-ever VNL title was historic in more than one way as it also featured the selection of Pawel Zatorski as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, which made him the first libero to be handed the award in five editions of the event.

The 33-year-old Zatorski is one of the faces of the Polish national team and the only player to have been on the squads that took gold at both the 2014 and 2018 FIVB Volleyball World Championships to continue with the roster in the VNL 2023 Finals.

The experienced libero was one of four Polish players selected for the VNL 2023 Dream Team - two players from second-placed United States and one from bronze medallists Japan completed the tournament's ideal line-up.

Most Valuable Player: Pawel Zatorski (Poland)

Best Setter: Micah Christenson (USA)

Best Opposite: Lukasz Kaczmarek (Poland)

Best Outside Hitters: Aleksander Sliwka (Poland) and Yuki Ishikawa (Japan)

Best Middle Blockers: David Smith (USA) and Jakub Kochanowski (Poland)

Best Libero: Pawel Zatorski (Poland)

The men’s VNL 2023 Dream Team

This was the third time that Zatorski was selected as the best libero in a major international tournament as the defender has also been named the best player in his position at the 2018 World Championship, which was won by Poland, and the 2015 FIVB World League, when the Polish were fourth.

The veteran libero ranked second in digs at the VNL Finals with 26 and seventh in successful passes, with 12. Considering the entire tournament, he had 77 digs and 32 passes in ten matches played.

VNL 2023 MVP Pawel Zatorski in action during the final in front of 11 thousand fans

After their triumph in the VNL, the Poles will try to repeat their success at the continental level, competing in the CEV European Championship in Bulgaria, Israel, Italy and North Macedonia from 18 to 26 August. A few weeks later, the new VNL champions will focus on the FIVB Road to Paris Olympic volleyball qualifier, going to China from 30 September to 8 October to compete in Pool C against the hosts, Argentina, the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Belgium and Bulgaria.

The United States, who also have four VNL medals with three silvers and one bronze, will host the NORCECA Championship from 3 to 11 September. At the end of the same month, the Americans will head to Japan to compete in the Pool B of the Road to Paris Olympic volleyball qualifier, where they will face the hosts, Slovenia, Serbia, Türkiye, Tunisia, Egypt and Finland.

Before hosting the Paris 2024 qualifier, the Japanese will fight for their tenth continental title at the 2023 Asian Championship, which will be played in Tehran, Iran from 18 to 26 August.

Italy, who will continue their quest to win their first VNL medal next season, will also turn their focus to continental competition as they will try to defend the European Championship title they won in 2021 in this year’s edition of the tournament, which they co-host with Bulgaria, Israel and North Macedonia. With the Road to Paris Olympic volleyball qualifier, the Italians will play Brazil, Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, Czechia and Qatar in Pool A, which will be hosted by Brazil.