Poland face Italy in VNL 2025 Final!

Italy reached another goal, qualifying for their first-ever Volleyball Nations League final with a powerful 3-1 (25:22, 22:25, 25:21, 25:18) victory over Slovenia, sealing a historic moment for and guaranteeing their first VNL medal since the competition’s launch in 2018!
In front of 4,000 volleyball fans at a full-packed Beilun Sport and Arts Centre, the game opened with a bang, as captain Simone Giannelli delivered an ace on the very first point.
Both teams went back and forth early on, but Italy’s powerful attack gave them the set 25-22.
Slovenia came roaring back in the second, punishing Italian errors led by Rok Mozic and Toncek Stern to take it also 25-22.
Refusing to lose the control of the match, Italy reacted in the third set, with Alessandro Michieletto’s dominant performance at the net and strategic substitutions, including Yuri Romanò and Gianluca Galassi, gave them the momentum to close the third 25-21.
In the fourth and final set, Italy left no room for a Slovenia’s comeback, storming ahead and shut the match down with a clean 25-18.
Alessandro Michieletto was the man of the match with 26 points, while Rok Mozic top-scored Slovenia with 14 points to his name.
This win also continues Italy’s strong record against Slovenia, following crucial victories in the 2021 European Championship final and 2022 World Championship semifinal, while their current VNL path now includes an impressive 12 match wins!

Meanwhile, Poland gave a volleyball lesson to Brazil, overpowering them in straight sets (28:26, 25:19, 25:21) to secure a place in the final of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League.
In a high-pressure semifinal clash, they showed resilience, precision, and control, with Kewin Sasak emerging as the man of the match with 19 points to his name including 1 ace, 1 block and 81% attack efficiency.
From the start of the match, both sides exchanged heavy blows, but it was Poland who take advantage from the momentum, and the first set was nail-biting, ending in Poland’s favor after a clutch serve run from Wilfredo Leon and some incredible defensive work from Jakub Popiwczak.
The second set saw Poland quickly take control and, although Tomasz Fornal suffered a scary fall and had to be subbed out, his teammates didn’t lose the control. Kewin Sasak continued his dominant night with powerful spikes and clever positioning, while Kamil Semeniuk, who replaced Fornal, also contributed to make the difference.
Brazil, despite the best efforts of Darlan Souza, their top scorer with 16 points, couldn’t break through.
Too many unforced errors and inconsistent play cost them dearly, with
the final set who followed a similar pattern: Brazil struggled, and Poland continued to push. Even when the Brazilians fought back to level the score at 20-20, Poland answered with several key plays. Jakub Kochanowski’s smart net play and Leon’s serve once again proved decisive as Poland managed to close the match in style.
Poland will now face Italy in the VNL final this Sunday.

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

Semifinals

— Saturday | August 2, 2025 —

• SEMIFINAL 1 | 15.00 (Local Time) | Italy – Slovenia 3-1 (25:22, 22:25, 25:21, 25:18)
• SEMIFINAL 2 | 19.00 (Local Time) | Brazil – Poland 0-3 (26:28, 19:25, 21:25)

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— Sunday | August 3, 2025 —

• 🥉BRONZE MEDAL MATCH | 15.00 (Local Time) | Brazil – Slovenia 3-1 (23:25, 25:20, 25:23, 25:19)
• 🥇GOLD MEDAL MATCH | 19.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Italy 3-0 (25:22, 25:19, 25:14)

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