Italy triumphs at the 20th Memorial of Hubert Jerzy Wagner

Italy secured the top spot in the 20th edition of Memorial of Hubert Jerzy Wagner, after defeating Poland on the last day in four sets (25:18, 25:23, 21:25, 25:17).
The event pays homage to Hubert Wagner, a revered former volleyball player and head coach of the Polish national team. Under his leadership, Poland secured the World Championship 1974 and Olympic gold in 1976.
In Krakow, the three-day volleyball showcase witnessed Italy’s good performance, collecting seven points with two victories, and succumbing once in a tie-breaker against Slovenia.
This victory marks Italy’s second title at the competition.
Slovenia, on the other hand, had a roller-coaster experience at the tournament.
Although they start with a remarkable victory against Poland (3-0) and a hard-fought victory over Italy (3-2), their undefeated streak came to an end against France.
Despite a very good and promising start (25-16), they eventually succumbed to the rivals, losing 1-3 (25:16, 19:25, 22:25, 20:25). France, before this match, hadn’t secured a win against either Italy or Poland in the tournament. As the tournament ended, Italy led the final standings with a decisive win against Poland, followed by Slovenia, who secured the second place.

This edition of the Wagner Memorial was particularly significant, featuring volleyball titans like the 2023 Volleyball Nations League champions Poland, the 2020 Olympic gold medalists and the 2022 Volleyball Nations League winners, France, together with 2022 World Champions Italy and Slovenia, two-time (2019, 2021) EuroVolley silver medalists.

| Wagner Memorial 2023 – All Results

Friday, August 18th
Poland – Slovenia 0-3 (21:25, 18:25, 21:25)
Italy – France 3-0 (29:27, 25:21, 25:20)

Saturday, August 19th
Slovenia – Italy 3-2 (20:25, 25:19, 25,23, 21:25, 25,23)
Poland – France 3-1 (27:29, 25:16, 25:21, 25,20)

Sunday, August 20th
France – Slovenia 3-1 (16:25, 25:19, 25:22, 25:20)
Italy – Poland 3-1 (25:18, 25:23, 21:25, 25:17)

| Final Standings
Italy: 2 wins (7 points)
Slovenia: 2 wins (5 points)
Poland: 1 win (3 points)
France: 1 win (3 points)

| Individual Awards
MVP: Simone Giannelli (Italy)
Best Setter: Simone Giannelli (Italy)
Best Outside Hitter: Alessandro Michieletto (Italy)
Best Libero: Pawel Zatorski (Poland)
Best Opposite: Rok Mozic (Slovenia)
Best Middle Blocker: Jan Kozamernik (Slovenia)