Saturday marks the semi-finals of the U22 Men’s European Championships, which have been played at the Jaskółka Arena in Tarnów since Tuesday. In the first semi-final, France defeated Turkey 3:2 (25:23, 22:25, 12:25, 25:23, 15:13) after a thrilling battle and advanced to Sunday’s final. The Polish national team, on the other hand, after an exciting battle, was defeated by the Italians 2:3. On Sunday, the White Reds will fight with Turkey for bronze.
In Saturday’s second semi-final, the Polish national team faced Italy. During this match, the white-and-reds wanted to get back at their rivals for the defeat a year ago during the World Championships, when they lost to them 2:3 in the semi-finals.
The Poles made the game tough for their opponents from the start. Italians could not find any way to stop the Polish team. On the other hand, the Poles dominated on the court in every element. Poland’s team won the first set.
The Italian volleyball team learned from the defeat quite quickly. In the next set, they played much harder. The Polish team slowly started to make up for the loss. However, in the further part of the match, it was the guests’ team that dictated the terms of play. In the middle of the set, the Polish team managed to close the gap to two points. However, the end belonged to the visitors.
The next phase of the semi-final rivalry started with a head-to-head game. In the later part of the set, no team managed to build a safe point advantage for a long time. In the final phase, the Polish team jumped out to a few points. The Polish team did not let the victory slip away. This set ended with a victory for the Polish team.
In the fourth set, despite the fight, the Poles were not able to catch up with the Italians. Changes in the line-up did not help either. Our players made many simple mistakes, including in the service. The Italians maintained concentration until the end.
Tie-break was a very tight game. Before the change of sides, the visitors came out on top. The Polish team fought till the end. It was extremely tight and exciting, but the Italians kept a cool head and eventually won.
The Polish team will fight tomorrow against Turkey for the bronze medal in the U22 Men’s European Championships.
Poland – Italy 2:3 (25:15, 21:25, 25:19, 16:25, 13:15)