EuroVolleyU20M: Poles became the Vice-Champions!

The final of the European U20 Championships was very exciting and fierce. Poland was losing 0:2 to Italy, but Polish volleyball players showed their character, leading to a tie-break. In the tie-break, the rivals were better.

Both teams were tournament favourites and confirmed predictions. The match for gold started very well for the White and Red team, who led 3:0 and then 5:2 after an attack by Jakub Majchrzak. However, there is a saying in volleyball that “who plays, wins.” The first set, however, was won by the Italians.

In the second set, the Italian players no longer served as strongly as before, unfortunately, the level of play of the Polish team dropped. Poles started to make mistakes and there was no concentration. Nothing helped – the Italians took a 2:0 lead.

However, the Polish national team ‘woke up’ and played much better in the third set. Above all, they improved their reception and the pressure on their rivals started to bear fruit. The Poles played brilliantly and as soon as their rivals managed to get closer, they jumped back to three points. The championship hosts did not give up, they defended two set points, but Majchrzak and Nowik stopped them. 

Poland dominated from the first actions until the end of the fourth set, finishing it with 69 per cent efficiency. Majchrzak and Nowik finished all their attacks, and not even a triple block was an obstacle for Śliwka and Olszewski. 

The title of European champion was to be decided by a tie-break. It started badly for our team. The speeding Italians started to play as in the first set. They came out with everything and won high. 

The Polish team does not have to be ashamed, because it returned from the last three championship tournaments with a medal: bronze from the U18 European Championships, gold from the U19 World Championships and silver from the U20 European Championships. 

Poland – Italy 2:3 (19:25, 19:25, 26:24, 25:17, 6:15)