Kamil Semeniuk emerges as key figure as Poland reach European volleyball final
Poland's men's volleyball team beat Slovenia 3:0 in the European Championship semifinal to reach the final, where they will defend their title, with substitute Kamil Semeniuk playing a decisive role.
Poland beat Slovenia for the fourth straight semifinal
Poland's national volleyball team, coached by Nikola Grbić, defeated Slovenia 3:0 in the semifinal of the European Championship held in Italy, securing a place in the final. As reported by PolsatNews, this was the fourth consecutive time the two teams met at this stage of the tournament — Slovenia won in 2019 and 2021 (both 3:1), before Poland got revenge in 2023 (3:1) and went on to win the title.
A tougher fight than the scoreline suggests
Despite the straightforward result, the match was far from easy. In the third set, Slovenia led as much as 11:7 before ultimately losing it 18:25 — Poland showed championship quality whenever the sets reached their decisive stages. Former player Wojciech Żaliński told WP that this was not Poland's best performance of the tournament: individual players produced brilliant moments, but no one delivered a fully outstanding match. Slovenian attacker Nik Mujanović caused Poland major problems, scoring four service aces, while Poland's reception efficiency stayed below 30% in the first two sets.
Semeniuk's entrance shifts momentum
In the third set, coach Grbić sent on 30-year-old Kamil Semeniuk in place of Wilfredo Leon, who was also struggling with his left leg. After Semeniuk's introduction, Poland's reception improved to 69% positive, opening up more attacking options, as setter Marcin Komenda noted. Żaliński said it was no surprise that Semeniuk was the one to come on in that moment, since he is among the most trusted players in the squad — though Żaliński himself had expected Tomasz Fornal to be substituted instead. According to Żaliński, Leon left the court without any frustration and sincerely wished Semeniuk good luck, which seemingly also motivated Fornal, who played better from that point on.
Final awaits
After the match, coach Grbić admitted the team had not played at its best level and that pressure increases at this stage of the tournament, but he expressed hope that Poland would return to their top form for the final. The final is scheduled for Saturday, September 26, at 21:00, against the winner of France vs. Finland. At stake is not only Poland's title defense from 2023, but also Olympic qualification for the Los Angeles Games.
