Poland dominate Olympic rivals in preparation tournament

FIVB World Ranking leaders Poland defeated three Olympic rivals as part of their preparations for the Paris 2024 Games on their way to triumph at the Hubert Jerzy Wagner Memorial Tournament this weekend in Kraków.

The Poles faced Egypt, Germany and Slovenia from Friday to Sunday and topped all three opponents to complete their schedule undefeated and create some momentum ahead of the Olympics.

The Polish started their campaign against Egypt, who will be their opponents at the Paris Games as both teams are in Pool B, on Friday and had no trouble producing a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21) victory with 13 points from outside hitter Kamil Semeniuk and 11 from opposite and team captain Bartosz Kurek.

On Saturday, the VNL bronze medalists had a tougher task, coming back from a two-set deficit to overcome Germany 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-12). Opposite Łukasz Kaczmarek, with 16 points, middle blocker Mateusz Bieniek, with 12, and outside hitters Aleksander Śliwka and Tomasz Fornal, with 11 each, had major roles in the Polish offense.

The Poles ended their campaign on Sunday, with a 3-1 (25-20, 26-28, 25-14, 26-24) victory over Slovenia in a rematch of the VNL bronze medal match in front of almost 14,000 fans. Semeniuk, with 14 points, and opposite and Kurek, with 13, were the team’s leading scorers.

With victories over Germany (3-2) and Egypt (3-1), Slovenia finished in second place, while the Germans, who topped the Egyptians 3-1, were third.

Semeniuk was awarded as the tournament’s MVP and was one of three Polish players to take home individual awards – fellow outside hitter Fornal was the best receiver, while middle Jakub Kochanowski was the best blocker. Slovenians Gregor Ropret and Tonček Štern were the best setter and hitter respectively, while German Julian Zenger was recognized among the liberos.

Next stop, Paris

All four Hubert Jerzy Wagner Memorial Tournament participants will compete at the Paris 2024 men’s volleyball tournament, which will be held from July 27-August 10 at the South Paris Arena.

Poland and Egypt are both in Pool B, alongside Brazil and Italy, while Slovenia shares Pool A with Canada, France and Serbia and Germany appears in Pool C with Argentina, Japan and the United States.

Before heading to France, the Polish will take part in another friendly tournament in their country, hosting Japan, Serbia and the United States from July 20-21 in Gdańsk.