NINGBO, China, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Poland rallied to defeat the United States 3-2 and retained its title at the 2026 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals on Sunday, while Slovenia beat Japan 3-1 to secure its first VNL medal.
In a thrilling final, Poland took the opening set 25-21 before the United States responded by edging the next two 25-23 and 27-25 to move within one set of the title.
With the championship on the line, the fourth set remained level at 20-20 before Polish outside hitter Tomasz Fornal sparked his team with a series of outstanding serves. Poland closed out the set 25-23 to force a decider.
The defending champion seized control after the score was tied at 5-5 in the fifth set, capitalizing on several U.S. attacking errors to build a 13-7 lead. Poland's disciplined defense and effective blocking denied the Americans any chance of a comeback, and the European side sealed the set 15-10 to complete the turnaround and claim its third VNL title.
Fornal was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2026 VNL during the post-match award ceremony.
"It's hard to describe my feelings right now. So many emotions," Poland's Kamil Semeniuk said after the victory. "Everyone gave everything today. I'm proud of our national team, and we deserved this title. I hope the next VNL Finals will be held a little closer to Poland."
Earlier on Sunday, after finishing fourth on three previous occasions, Slovenia finally reached the VNL podium by defeating Japan 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 25-22, 25-22) in the bronze medal match.
"Yesterday, my roommate Jan Kozamernik and I saw that the head-to-head between Japan and Slovenia was 8-3 to them and 7-0 in the last matches, but I had a feeling, because we were really doing something crazy in this VNL. I said to Tine and Pajenk that they were waiting for a medal for 20 years and it came," Rok Mozic of Slovenia said after the match.
"We've had a lot of fourth places, and it was very unlucky. Now we are so happy. It's like gold for us! I always say, I just want to finish a tournament with a win, and it finally happened, and I am really proud of this team. We did something special, and it will be remembered forever!" he added. ■
