Poland triumph in front of their home fans during VNL preparations

Bronze medalists in the Volleyball Nations League in the last two season, Poland continued their preparations for the 2025 edition of the tournament triumphing in the President’s Cup in front of their home fans, in Koszalin, this weekend.

Currently in sixth place in the FIVB World Rankings, the Polish defeated Bulgaria, Sweden and France between Friday and Sunday to finish first and win the friendly tournament.

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Head coach Stefano Lavarini had all of the team’s key players available and used different lineups over the weekend. On Friday, when the Polish downed Bulgaria 3-1 (18-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-18), they had outside hitter Martyna Czyrniańska as their leading scorer with 21 points (19 kills, two aces).

Poland had their most challenging match in the weekend on Saturday, when they came back from a two-set deficit to complete a reverse sweep against Sweden and win 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-9, 15-6). Outside hitter Olivia Różański was instrumental in the Polish comeback, producing a match-high 28 points (24 kills, two blocks, two aces), while opposite Magdalena Stysiak added another 19 (16 kills, three blocks).

On Sunday, Poland secured their third and last victory in Koszalin, beating France 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-13) to complete their undefeated campaign in the tournament. Czyrniańska was again the team’s top scorer with 17 points (13 kills, three blocks, one ace), followed by star middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk, who produced 15 (12 kills, three blocks).

France finish second

Fresh from competing at last year’s Paris Olympics, France took second place at the President’s Cup, getting two wins and one loss. Before falling to Poland on Sunday, the French topped Sweden 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 27-25) on Friday and defeated Bulgaria 3-2 (25-27, 22-25, 25-15, 26-24, 15-9) on Saturday. The other match on the tournament, held on Sunday, saw Sweden beat Bulgaria in the tie-breaker (23-25, 28-26, 25-20, 20-25, 15-11) to finish in third place.

Polish and French will start the VNL in Beijing, China, while the Bulgarians will play their first matches in the tournament in Ottawa, Canada. Ranked 24^th in the FIVB World Rankings, Sweden didn’t earn a spot in the VNL 2025.

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