If you wish to publish an Italian translation of this article, any of our other articles, or any part of them, please cite the original source. Plagiarism is illegal!
Article wrote by Danilo from Ningbo for Volleytimes, please respect his job.
It certainly wasn’t the semifinal anyone expected. Instead, it turned into a one-sided 0-3 (16:25, 19:25, 17:25) victory for a magnificent Poland, who completely steamrolled Slovenia.
Poland thus booked their place in a second consecutive Volleyball Nations League Final after delivering a commanding in the first semifinal in Ningbo, China.
The reigning champions will now have the opportunity to defend the title they won in 2025 against the winner of the second semifinal between Japan and the United States.
It was a dominant performance from start to finish, with Poland outperforming the rivals in every major statistical category. Nikola Grbić’s side finished with a 35-25 advantage in attack points, doubled their opponents in blocks (12-6), and made the biggest impact from the service line, firing nine aces compared to Slovenia’s three.
Wilfredo León once again proved why he is one of the world’s most influential players, leading all scorers with 16 points to his name including as many as six aces, three in the third set, where his devastating serving run effectively ended any hopes of a Slovenian comeback.
Opposite hitter Bartłomiej Bołądź added 15 points in another decisive performance, remarkably avoiding being blocked even once throughout the match. On the other side of the net, Slovenia’s opposite Nik Mujanović struggled against Poland’s disciplined blocking system, an his team managed to stay competitive only during the early stages of the second set, briefly taking the lead before Poland quickly regained control. From that point onward, the defending champions dictated the pace with confidence, never allowing their opponents back into the contest as they comfortably sealed the match in straight sets.
Veteran middle blocker Alen Pajenk, now 40 years old, was Slovenia’s top scorer with 11 points, including two aces, while captain Rok Možič finished with seven points.
The defeat also had consequences beyond the tournament itself, as Slovenia lost 7.01 points in the FIVB World Ranking, dropping to sixth place with 336.79 points and being overtaken by the United States. However, the rankings could change again depending on the outcome of the second semifinal between the Americans and Japan.
Poland’s superiority was evident in every phase of the game, but their serving and blocking made the biggest difference, alone producing a combined 21 direct points.
León’s relentless pressure from the service line and Poland’s well-organized block neutralized Slovenia’s most dangerous attackers, turning what many expected to be a closely contested semifinal into one of the most one-sided game of the tournament.
“Not always you can win 3-0 in the semifinals. And we also dominated in each of the three sets. It’s not that easy, so you will not play this kind of a match every day,” said Wilfredo Leon after the match, “I hope there will be more (aces) in the final.”
“I am a little bit sad, because we had some opportunities, where we could do better,” Slovenia’s outside hitter Rok Mozic commented. “When Leon is spiking over the block, you cannot do anything, but when he’s taking a roll shot, you can take it and do something better in counterattack. We knew we would suffer a lot in attack, because they are one of the best blocking teams and that’s what happened. But we need to learn from this. Tomorrow is a new day. We need to reset and go full power. The medal is the only goal that we have, so we’ll give everything we have to win it.”
The bronze medal match on Sunday will start at 15:40 local time (07:40 UTC) and the final showdown is scheduled at 19:30 (11:30).
__________________
🏐| FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 | SEMIFINALS
📍Ningbo Beilun – China 🇨🇳
— Saturday | August 1, 2026 —
👉🏼 15.00 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Poland 0-3 (16:25, 19:25, 17:25)
• 19.30 (Local Time) | Japan – USA
__________
Quick Links:
• AGENDA📝
• All international news
• FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 – Calendar
• VNL 2026 – All News
• Multimedia
• Facebook
• Instagram
__________