Polish volleyball players defied fate! A wild match and a triumph for the Poles

It was August 7, 2024. At 4:00 PM, the Polish national volleyball team played in the semifinals of an Olympic tournament for the first time in 44 years. Few may remember this, but after their success at the 1976 Montreal Games, which ended with a gold medal, four years later the Poles were again in the top four. However, the team, under the direction of coach Aleksander Skiba, lost 3-0 to Bulgaria, then 3-1 to Romania in the third-place match, finishing fourth at the Moscow Games.

Poland – USA, or the all-time volleyball thriller at the 2024 Olympics in Paris

In 1980, they were absent from the Olympics, but American volleyball had a solid delegation in the French capital. After breaking the spell of the "quarterfinal curse"—Poland winning this stage of the Olympics after five consecutive losses—it was the U.S. team that stood in the way of coach Nikola Grbić's team.

Two decades without a quarterfinal win, a huge weight lifted from the hearts of perhaps everyone who cares about the fate of Polish volleyball. Leading the way was the team that went to Paris to dispel all the bad news, turning it into gold. The result was almost 100% perfect, even though the organizers had prepared the most challenging Olympic tournament in years. There were twice as many aspiring podium finishers as the tournament could hold.

The quarterfinal clash with Slovenia (3-1) took Mateusz Bieniek right at the finish line. The national team's starting center suffered an injury that ended any chance of playing in the semifinals. Norbert Huber was also in the starting lineup alongside the sure-fire Jakub Kochanowski, who was eventually selected for the team of the tournament. Tomasz Fornal, who had been racing against the clock in the group stage after an injury he sustained while preparing for the Olympics, was also ready. It turned out that the national team's medical team, led by physiotherapists Tomasz Pieczko and Mateusz Kowalik, worked miracles. Fornal was called back into the lineup for the final group match. But even miracles require a bit of luck. Unfortunately, Bieniek was sidelined for a longer period, well beyond the tournament in Paris.

The Polish side kicked off the semifinal with a 25-23 set win. Grbić fielded a lineup that was a safe bet. Fornal and Wilfredo Leon were responsible for reception, captain Bartosz Kurek was on the attack, the aforementioned midfielder, Kochanowski and Huber. Marcin Janusz served as the setter, and Paweł Zatorski was the libero.

The first set was as close as 24-20, but the Americans managed to pull within a tight 24-23. Huber finished the opening set from the middle after 30 minutes of play.

In the second set, the tables were turned, as the Poles were forced to chase. The lead was 14-18, 18-21, and 20-22, but ultimately it was 22-22. The Americans were the better team on the power play, closing the set with a 27-25 victory.

However, the worst for Poles was yet to come that day…

Zatorski and Janusz's injuries. Fornal's speech and Łomacz's key entry.

The third set, the scoreboard reading 9-12 in Poland's favor. A longer, sloppy rally, with many inaccuracies, finally saw point number 13 for the USA. During a long rally, Zatorski bumped into Janusz. It seemed like a harmless situation. However, the experienced libero fell to the court, and there was a prolonged pause in play, while medical personnel arrived. Looking at Zatorski's movements, it was already clear that the situation was much more serious than initially expected.

A few minutes later, it's 9:16, with Kurek (Bartłomiej Bołądź) and Leon (Kamil Semeniuk) out of the game. The set ends at a completely uneventful 14:25 from the Polish perspective.

As if that weren't enough, Janusz joins Bieniek and the injured Zatorski, who played until the end, in the fourth set. With the score at 2-3, the setter, whom Grbić has consistently favored since the beginning of his time with the Polish national team, ends his run in the semifinals. It becomes clear that Grzegorz Łomacz is the only option left. Written off by most fans, questioned practically throughout the entire Olympic cycle, he shows that he's been waiting for this moment his entire volleyball career. Łomacz knows exactly what he wants to do, how to help the team get going. And the team is firing on all cylinders!

Even though the result is 4:8, 9:12 or 14:16, it is clear that the Poles believe until the end.

And as Kurek admitted to the cameras after the match, at some point the team simply decided they wouldn't lose this match. It's difficult to explain logically, but that's exactly what happened. The Americans, on the other hand, just like at the 2018 World Championships, lost a 2-1 set advantage in the semifinals, facing a faltering Poles. It's worth noting that among the ill-fated Olympic quarterfinals was the Poland-USA one. In 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, it ended in a dismal 0-3. That time, Kurek, Łomacz, and Zatorski were on the court. And then there was Michał Kubiak, who was also in Paris with Grbić's team, though this time only as a fan.

Each successive successful attack by the Americans was crucial at this critical moment, contributing to their renewed confidence. One of the key plays was the exchange at 9:11, where Fornal, among others, picked up the ball at the back line, and Leon ultimately finished it off. Speaking of confidence, Fornal's flowery speech during the timeout at 18:20 also had to be mentioned.

“Come on, let’s f***ing fight them, f***!” the receiver issued a now legendary appeal to his colleagues.

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The quoted Fornal ended set number 4, and the Poles escaped from the "depths of volleyball hell" – as Tomasz Swędrowski, the voice of Polish volleyball, rightly put it. A point attack to 25-23 and Fornal's glance at the American side only confirmed to Grbić's fans that on this day and at this particular moment, the USA once again had something to fear.

Leon is the leader, Kochanowski is fantastic, and Grbić is like Wagner!

The tie-breaker began by effectively sending Huber into the fray (1-1). The middle setter added a service ace a moment later (2-1). Kochanowski successfully blocked (3-1) and attacked (4-2). Huber again attacked effectively (7-5), and "Kochan" did the same (12-10), adding another impressive cap (13-10).

But let's not just talk about the middle blockers, the Poles had effective receivers. Fornal and Leon took matters into their own hands. The most effective player on the court that day, the latter, scored 26 points, including the most important one – to make it 15-13. Although his hand might have trembled, as the Poles were already up 14-11 and their opponent was getting dangerously close. It's worth noting that Leon scored 9 points in the fourth, crucial set alone, once again demonstrating how valuable a player he is to the Polish national team.

The Poles advanced to the final, and the match will end in exactly two hours and eleven minutes. Volleyball is known for its longer thrillers, but it's probably hard to find one in which, under such extraordinary circumstances, including those of chance (i.e., injuries), a team deep in defense snatches victory from its top-tier rivals.

"On the one hand, many people were waiting for us to get through the quarterfinals, but we didn't feel the pressure within the team that much. There was a lot of motivation and a mature approach to the matter. There was no room for fear or doubt. We knew that together we could do it, step by step. I certainly didn't want to leave anyone unsatisfied after the tournament. That we hadn't tried everything we could on our way to further victories. I didn't want a scenario where we lost and didn't know why, what happened. I wanted to fight for every point, to give my best to the team. I really wanted the gold medal in Paris. That's the first thing. On the other hand, I looked at how and how hard we worked to stand on the Olympic podium. I saw what was happening on the ground. How we prepared physically, mentally, and tactically. And you know what? At this point, at the end of 2024, I can tell you that this silver medal in Paris is our great success – admitted Wilfred Leon in an interview for "Wprost" , assessing the Olympic tournament in Paris as a whole.

The volleyball players have earned this success over the past two decades of the "Olympic curse." And as they themselves emphasized after the final in Paris, their goal remains gold at the Games.

Who knows, maybe in Los Angeles (IO 2028) we will hear "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego"?

The volleyball team is certainly capable of achieving such a result, as they demonstrated in the current season. It started off very well, with a victory – their second in history – in the Nations League. The 2025 VNL gold medal is a great lead-in to the World Championships in September. The Poles will go there as runners-up in 2022. Will there be a fight for another gold medal? It seems this team is capable of anything, even considering the significant changes. And there are plenty of those after the aforementioned 2024 Olympics in 2025.

Let's take a look at the team that advanced to the Olympic final in Paris. The starting lineup: Tomasz Fornal, Norbert Huber, Bartosz Kurek (captain), Wilfredo Leon, Jakub Kochanowski, Marcin Janusz, and Paweł Zatorski at libero. Łukasz Kaczmarek, Aleksander Śliwka, Grzegorz Łomacz, Kamil Semeniuk, and Bartłomiej Bołądź were substitutes or in the reserve quarters. Mateusz Bieniek was also injured. And the coaching staff, led by the trio of Nikola Grbić, Paweł Rusek, and Adam Swaczyna.

Read also: Aleksander Kwaśniewski on the successes of Polish volleyball. "It's a reason to be proud." Read also: Michał Winiarski's son is entering the big leagues. We're talking about a great talent.