The final match of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 Men's Final Round was held in Ningbo (China) on Sunday, August 3rd, with Poland defeating Italy 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-14).
As a result, Poland won their second title in two tournaments, while Italy came in second and won their first medal of the tournament.
Match Overview
In the first set, Poland scored points from OH Leon, while Italy scored points from OP Rychlicki and OH Lavia, leading to a score of 9-9. Poland then took a 13-9 lead with a block and counter attack from MB Novak's serve, but Italy tied the score at 14-14 with a block and attack from OH Lavia.
From there, the game turned to a battle for side outs again, but towards the end of the match, a free ball from OH Leon's powerful serve was scored by MB Kochanowski with a quick shot, putting Poland at 24-21 and giving them set point. Finally, OH Semeniuk scored a high ball to take the set 25-22.
In the second set, Italy mistakenly registered the rotation order of S. Giannelli and OH Micheletto in reverse, forcing them to start the set with an irregular rotation.
Poland continued to score with attacks from OH Leon, while Italy struggled with their unfamiliar formation, widening the gap to 11-6. Italy then closed the gap to 13-12 with consecutive service aces from OH Micheletto, but out-of-position errors allowed Poland to again lead to 16-12. At this point, Italy replaced S Gianelli with OH Bottolo and OH Micheletto with S Sbertoli, restoring the correct rotation.
From there, an ace from OH Bottolo put Italy within two points at 16-14, but Poland's powerful serves led to multiple breaks from OH Semeniuk and MB Jakubiszak to widen the gap to 22-16. Finally, a serve error from Italy made it 25-19, putting Poland in a commanding position to win the championship.
In the third set, Italy's rotation returned to normal, but Poland took a 4-1 lead with consecutive blocks off powerful serves from OP Sasak, and then three consecutive breaks, including an ace, off OH Semeniuk's serve to extend the lead to 12-5.
Italy continued to struggle to cope with the effective serves of OP Sasak and S Komenda, but Poland quickly took the match point at 24-13 with counter attacks, blocks and aces, and finally MB Jakubischak scored a quick goal to make it 25-14 and Poland won the match 3-0.
Poland - Italy
3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-14)
Poland
Starting line-up: OH Semeniuk (14), MB Novak (0), OP Sasak (6), OH Leon (16), MB Kochanovski (7), S Komenda (3), L Popivchak
On the way: OH Bednos (0), MB Yakubishak (6)
Italy
Starting line-up: S. Giannelli (1), OH. Micheletto (7), MB. Anzani (3), OP. Lichlicki (4), OH. Lavia (11), MB. Galassi (4), L. Barrasso
On the way: S. Sbertoli (0), OH. Bottolo (3), OP. Romano (3), MB. Gargiulo (0), L. Pece, OH. Porro (1)
Match stats▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227714/
personal MVP
Martin Komenda
Setter
198cm
3 points (1 serve, 2 blocks)
Team Attack Effectiveness Rate 30%
Unlike the semi-final, where the set distribution was biased towards the sides, in the final they aggressively used quick and pipe attacks from the center, preventing Italy from focusing on their target. While OP Sasaku, who had been in top form in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, had a slight drop in form, this may have had an impact, but they showed a level of play that set them apart and contributed to the victory. Individually, they scored three points with one service ace and two blocks.
Daniele Lavia
Outside hitter
200cm
11 points (8 attacks, 1 serve, 2 blocks)
Attack Effectiveness Rate 15%
He was the only outside player on the team to score double digits. He spiked in place of OH Micheletto, who had been struggling since the first set, and also scored points on his serve and block, making a significant contribution defensively. Even after falling behind by a large margin in the third set, he showed passionate play that thrilled the crowd. I hope he can make up for this disappointment at the World Championships.
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