VNL 2025: Slovenia stun France! Poland sweep Japan to become last semifinalist

In an unexpected twist at the Volleyball Nations League 2025 finals in Ningbo, China, Slovenia stunned Olympic gold medalists France with a well-deserved 3–1 (25:22, 15:25, 25:19, 25:18) thrilling victory.
Despite entering the tournament as one of the last team qualified at least according to final standings, the winners showed great composure, precision and skill, sending the super favorite France home early.
The first set saw both teams neck and neck, until a strong serve run by Ziga Stern that made the difference, together with a solid reception and smart offense that led Slovenia to a 25–22 set win, closed by a powerful attack from Saso Stalekar.
France regrouped quickly, literally dominating the second set, with setter Antoine Brizard, Trevor Clevenot, and Mathis Henno who served strong, creating several problems in the Slovenian defense. A 10-point lead and a monster block from Yacine Louati closed the set with a clear 25–15.
However, Slovenia didn’t gave up and, in third set, they retook control. After a 9–9 tie, in fact, they built a decisive lead with Jan Kozamernik’s decisive play at the net that helped to seal 25–19.
The fourth and final set mirrored the last one, with France who fought hard early but couldn’t sustain momentum, as Slovenia’s relience and fewer mistakes paved the way to a 25–18 finish as France’s final serve flew out, sparking wild celebrations from the Finals’ underdogs.
Theo Faure was the most prolific player of the match with 19 points to his name for France, followed by Yacine Louati who added 15 and Trevor Clevenot, also in double digit with 13, but they were not enough.
Toncek Stern delivered 16 points for the winners, while Rok Mozic and Ziga Stern added 8 and 7 respectively.
Although France led in serve aces (7–2), they struggled with consistency, committing 40 unforced errors, more than double Slovenia’s 17.
Now, Slovenia advances to the semifinals to face Italy, who earlier overcame Cuba.

In second match of the day, Poland delivered a powerhouse performance by defeating Japan 3–0 (25:23, 26:24, 25:12) in last quarterfinal of competition.
With this victory, they also advanced to the semifinals, where they’ll face Brazil on Saturday.
The opening two sets were tightly contested, showcasing the high skill level on both sides.
Japan starter strong in first set, capitalizing on sharp serves from Kento Miyaura.
However, Poland stayed composed, and a powerful serve run from Jakub Kochanowski brought them back into the game, closing the set with the minimum gap, 25:23, after forcing Japanese errors late in the set.
The second set followed a similar pattern, but this time Poland started strong, and Japan reacted midway, leveling the score at 16–16. The set ended overtime, and it was once again Kewin Sasak who stepped up, scoring a critical point and sealing the set with a block for a great 26:24 win.
The third set was one-sided.
With dominant blocking, aggressive serving, and Japan struggling to reply, Poland raced to a double-digit lead.
The clash ended with Kamil Semeniuk who sealed the win with a powerful spike, closing the set with a clear 25:12.
Kewin Sasak led the winners with 15 points to his name, while Tomasz Fornal also contributed with 11.
Japan’s top scorer was Kento Miyaura with 17 points. Poland’s performance in blocking was particularly effective, outscoring the rivals 14–3.
Interestingly, this was the only quarterfinal match of the VNL to end in a straight-sets victory!

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🏐FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2025 | Quarterfinals – Ningbo Beilun – China 🇨🇳