His arrival helped the Poles achieve success. "We persevered through difficult moments."
A reserve player, but one who appeared on the court at crucial moments in the match. Despite his team's three-set victory over Brazil, Nikola Grbić had plenty to reflect on during the match. For this reason alone, the Serbian coach of the Polish team enlisted the services of Kamil Semeniuk, who hadn't found a place in the starting lineup.
Nations League: Kamil Semeniuk after the Poles' victory over the BraziliansThe primary receiving duo in both the quarterfinals against Japan (3-0) and the semifinals against Brazil (3-0) was Wilfredo Leon and Tomasz Fornal. However, in the first set, Fornal struggled to find his offensive effectiveness. Marcin Komenda tried to activate one of the leaders, but Leon was undoubtedly more useful, for example, in the service area and even as a reasonably good receiver. Therefore, Grbić began to look for new solutions to the basic lineup.
Bartosz Bednorz entered the court, followed shortly by Kamil Semeniuk. Fornal also suffered an injury early in the second set. The volleyball player played the match until the beginning of the third set, when he requested a substitution, and Leon appeared on the court. Semeniuk was already in the game, having, of course, replaced Leon earlier. This meant a slight reversal of the receiving system, but the Poles pulled through and closed the match in three sets.
"It was a bit tense at first. But I think the nerves were more on the Brazilians' side, because their first attacker, who played a really good match in the quarterfinals, didn't really show his wings here and was quickly taken off the court. That certainly helped us in some way. The Brazilians didn't develop much in this match, which is the reason for our good play. We persevered through some difficult moments in the match, and there were several of them. We didn't let them get a run on serve, realizing that Brazil is strong in this area. And they can decide matches with their serve. In the match against us, their serve didn't help them. We're very happy, we're winning another match without dropping a set in China. But I'm sure once we leave the locker room, everyone's mind will be focused on Sunday's final," said the Polish national team receiver after Saturday's victory over Brazil.
In addition, Semeniuk played... for six. That's how many points he scored, showing off his 100 percent offensive efficiency. The receiver was also tested five times while receiving, finishing the game with a pass percentage of 40 percent.
Who knows, given Fornal's injury, Semeniuk might start Sunday's final alongside starter Wilfredo Leon. Although the fight to get Fornal back on his feet will undoubtedly continue. The question is whether the coaching staff and the player himself are willing to take the risk, given the World Cup in September, among other things.
Poland will face Italy in the final. The match will take place on Sunday (August 3rd) at 1:00 PM Polish time. Italy defeated Slovenia 3-1 in the semifinals. This promises to be a repeat of the last World Cup finals (Italy prevailing 3-1) in 2022 and the European Championship finals (Poland prevailing 3-0) in 2023.
European champion versus world champion? It promises to be a huge volleyball feast! Starting at 9:00 AM Polish time, Slovenia and Brazil will battle for the bronze medals at the 2025 VNL.
All matches of the VNL 2025 men's volleyball final tournament will be broadcast on Polsat Sport. Additionally, matches of the Polish national team will be included in the schedule of the open-source Polsat channel. Online broadcasts will be available on the Polsat Box Go platform.
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