Warta Zawiercie win bronze in their first Club World Championship appearance

Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie's first trip to compete at the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship was a productive one for the Polish team, which is set to return home from Belém, Brazil, with the bronze medals of the 2025 edition of the tournament.

The runners-up of the last CEV Champions League, Warta Zawiercie met Brazil's Vôlei Renata Campinas in the bronze medal match on Sunday, the last day of matches at the Mangueirinho Arena, and ignored the hosts' homecourt advantage to triumph 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-21) and secure the historic podium appearance.

• Watch the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship on VBTV

Warta Zawiercie's victory in the third-place match also took Polish volleyball back to the Club World Championship podium for the first time since 2012 and earned the country its fifth medal. They are now one of just three clubs in the country to have medaled in the tournament, joining PGE Skra Belchatow (silver in 2009 and 2010 and bronze in 2012) and KS Jastrzebski Wegiel (silver in 2011).

For Campinas, the fourth-place finish obtained in Belém is also their best result in the event - they were sixth in 2022. This edition, however, marked the first time since 2018 that Brazil failed to have a team on the podium.

A 2018 club world champion with Italian side Itas Trentino, American outside hitter Aaron Russell pushed Warta Zawierecie in the bronze medal match, producing 16 points, with 13 kills, two aces and one block. Fellow outside hitter Bartosz Kwolek and team captain and middle blocker Mateusz Bieniek also had solid displays, contributing 13 points each.

Campinas had Brazilian national team outside hitter Adriano Xavier leading their scoring efforts with 11 points, all obtained in kills. Opposite Newton 'Acerola' Fernandes and Olympic champion outside hitter Maurício Borges followed, with ten and nine points, respectively.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship: schedule and results

The title of the 2025 Club World Championship will be decided later on Sunday, with Italy's Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia facing Japan's Osaka Bluteon at 18:30 local time (21:30 UTC).

Quick links:
2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter