Joanna Wolosz – Leading from the front for club and nation

Joanna Wolosz has spent the past decade establishing herself among Poland’s leading players, and having enjoyed plenty of success she is now focusing on her role leading her country and her club team Imoco Volley Conegliano.

The 30-year-old made her Poland debut in 2010 and went on to make 11 appearances at the Japan 2010 FIVB Volleyball World Championship.

Ten years on she finishes the decade as club champion of the world following Italian champions Conegliano’s victory at the Shaoxing 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship.

Alongside a roster of star players that included Italy’s Paola Egonu, Miriam Sylla and libero Monica De Gennaro, the Netherlands' Robin de Kruijf, and USA’s McKenzie Adams and Kimberly Hill, Conegliano defeated Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21) win in the final.

World Champions

Wolosz was named as best setter for the tournament and as Conegliano captain was the player who lifted the Club World Championship trophy.

“What a World Championship. It was an amazing tournament,” Wolosz said. “This is our first World Championship, and we are incredibly happy. It was our dream to win this championship and I think we deserve this.

“We played really well. Our block-defence system was really good. We were mixing our game and we did a good job overall. Playing Eczacibasi is never easy. It was the best way to win this tournament.”

Over the summer of 2020 Wolosz extended her contract with Conegliano and in September helped the club win another trophy with the Italian SuperCoppa.

Success with Poland has not been as forthcoming despite the team’s improvement in recent years. They finished fourth at the 2019 European Championship, appeared in the 2018 and 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and won the 2019 Montreux Masters.

However, they missed out on the London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, and the Italy 2014 and Japan 2018 World Championships.

Champions League dreaming

Poland’s latest heartache came in January 2020. Having finished second behind Serbia at the Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournament at home in Wroclaw, they then lost to Turkey in the European qualification tournament semifinals which mean they will not be going to Tokyo 2020.

While Wolosz will not be making her Olympic debut, she does have her eyes fixed firmly on further success at club level.

She has been on the losing side in a Champions League final, with Conegliano at Berlin 2019. And as such, both captain and club have a maiden Champions Victory firmly in their sights.

“Each of us has fire in our eyes and dreams of winning the Champions League,” she said. “Since I have been in the team, we have won bronze and silver.

“It would be beautiful to finally tick that box. We still lack this gold.”