Reigning EuroVolley champions Poland retain VNL crown
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On Sunday, Poland defended the men’s Volleyball Nations League crown, lifting the trophy for the third time, after doing so in 2023 and 2025. They also have one silver and three bronze medals in the competition. In a thrilling five-set showdown in Ningbo Beilun, China, they outlasted the United States, leaving them with their fourth silver in four VNL finals played, in addition to one bronze. Earlier in the day, Slovenia grabbed their first bronze, courtesy of their victory over Japan.
Polish outside hitter Tomasz Fornal was honoured as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the men’s VNL 2026. Almost six thousand fans in the stands at the Ningbo Beilun Sports and Arts Centre witnessed a spectacular five-set final that went 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-27, 25-23, 15-10) Poland’s way.
Poland made 29 unforced errors during the match, fewer than USA’s 34. They also outperformed the opponents in net defence by 12-8 in kill blocks and in serving by 8-4 in aces. As many as five of those aces were authored by VNL 2026 MVP Tomasz Fornal, who finished the final with 15 points. With two aces and three kill blocks to his name, Wilfredo Leon also finished with 15 points, while the Polish scorers were led by sub-in outside Kamil Semeniuk with 17 points, including three blocks and one ace. Middle blocker Bartlomiej Lemanski led the blockers with four stuffs towards an 11-point tally. Two more Polish players reached the double digits - Szymon Jakubiszak with 11 and opposite Bartlomiej Boladz with 10.
Kamil Semeniuk“It’s difficult to describe... There is a lot of emotion… I think, when we get back to Poland, we will feel what we did. Tonight – a great game, a great victory! Everybody put something on the court, so we should be proud of our national team. It was a pleasure to be here, on the court. To play with these fans in the tribunes was really nice, but maybe next time the final should be a little bit closer to Poland.”
Player of Poland