The two semi-final matches of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 Men's Final Round were held on Saturday, August 2nd.
Semifinal 1: Italy (qualifier 2nd place) vs Slovenia (qualifier 6th place)
The first semi-final match was a showdown between two European neighbors who know each other well.
The first set started with a service ace from S. Giannelli. Then, with a second service ace, Italy took a 10-8 lead. Slovenia quickly caught up due to an Italian mistake, but then, thanks to the efforts of OH Micheletto and OP Lihiricki, Italy broke the serve again from S. Giannelli's serve and took a 21-17 lead. Finally, Slovenia made an attack mistake, and Italy took the set 25-22.
The second set was a close one in the beginning, but Slovenia's three side attackers, OH Stern, OH Mozic, and OP Mujanovic, steadily broke through with solid blocks and defenses, taking a 7-point lead to 13-20. Italy closed the gap to 2 points at 21-23 with a counterattack from OH Micheletto, but OH Mozic finally scored a spike to give Slovenia the set at 22-25.
In the third set, Italy scored points mainly through OH Micheletto and Slovenia through OH Mozic, and the score remained at 17-17 until the middle of the set. However, Italy managed to break consecutively with attacks and service aces from OH Micheletto to take a 21-17 lead, and OH Micheletto continued to score with attacks in the end, giving Italy the set 25-21.
The fourth set was a close one at 10-10 at the beginning, but Italy took the lead 16-10 thanks to MB Galassi's serve, OP Romano's attacks and blocks, and Slovenia's missed attacks. OP Romano and MB Galassi's attacks continued to help Italy score side-outs, and finally OH Lavia scored a winning attack to take the set 25-18.
Italy - Slovenia
3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18)
Most points: OH Micheletto (Italy) 26 points (attack 19, serve 3, block 4), attack efficiency 551 TP 3 T
Match stats▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227712/
As a result, Italy secured their first medal in the Nations League and advanced to their first final, while Slovenia will play in the third-place match, aiming for the bronze medal.
Semi-final 2: Brazil (qualifier 1st place) vs Poland (qualifier 5th place)
The second semi-final match will be a showdown between the old and new world number one players.
In the first set, Brazil made many attacking mistakes and was unable to score as they wanted, while Poland continued to score, mainly through OP Sasak, and went into the final stages with a 16-21 lead. From there, OP Darlan's attacks and blocks and Poland's mistakes allowed Brazil to catch up at 24-24 and the game went to deuce, but in the end, OH Leon scored an attack from a dig by L Popivczak and Poland took the lead 26-28.
In the second set, both sides broke serve early but the score remained at 7-7. However, in the middle of the set, thanks to a Brazilian mistake and a service ace from OH Fornal, Poland quickly widened the gap to 10-16. Brazil narrowed the gap to 15-17 with attacks from OP Darlan, but Poland broke serve in succession with an ace from MB Kochanowski's serve and a spike from OP Sasak to widen the gap again to 16-23. Finally, a Brazilian serve error gave Poland the set, 19-25.
In the third set, Brazil scored points mainly through OP Darlan and Poland through OH Semeniuk, but the score remained stable at 16-16 until the middle of the set. However, consecutive blocks from MB Kochanowski and OP Sasak put Poland ahead at 16-19. Brazil then tied the score at 20-20 with consecutive aces from MB Mateus, but Poland continued to break the score with blocks from MB Kochanowski and mistakes from Brazil on OH Leon's serve, putting them on match point at 20-24. Finally, a serve error from OP Darlan gave Poland the lead at 21-25.
Brazil - Poland
0-3 (26-28, 19-25, 21-25)
Most points: OP Sasak (Poland) 18 points (16 attack, 1 serve, 1 block), attack efficiency 711 TP 3 T
Match stats▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227711/
Poland has secured their sixth consecutive medal and will face Italy in a bid to win their first gold medal in two tournaments, while Brazil will face Slovenia in a bid to win their first medal in four tournaments.
Upcoming match schedule
*Japan time notation
August 3 (Sun)
3rd place match: 16:00
Brazil vs Slovenia
Finals: 8:00 PM
Italy vs Poland
*Only the final match will be streamed on U-NEXT▼
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Related links
Photo: FIVB
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