Poland shuts down Japan, bags VNL bronze in home court war

Bernadette Soriano

Poland outdueled Japan in a four-set grind at Atlas Arena in Łódź, Poland on Sunday, July 27, 2025 (10:00 PM Philippine Time), claiming bronze in the 2024 VNL with a 3–1 (25–15, 24–26, 25–16, 25–23) statement win.

Coming off a sweep loss to Italy, the hosts bounced back with grit and guns blazing before 10,000 loud in red and white.

Magdalena Stysiak drilled 16 kills and two blocks to pace a Polish offense that ran quick, sharp, and heavy.

Agnieszka Korneluk patrolled the middle with eight kill blocks, forcing Japan into scramble mode on repeat.

Japan stole the second set behind Ishikawa’s off-speed reads, but Poland tightened their passing lanes and broke away in the third.

Stysiak, Czyrnianska, and Lukasik took turns bombing from the wings while Szczygłowska scooped up Japan’s drop shots with clean reads.

Mayu Ishikawa led Japan with 12 points, but the team’s two blocks across four sets spelled the mismatch.

Poland racked up 15 blocks and 30 opponent errors, closing the door each time Japan threatened to swing momentum.

“It’s fantastic for us to have won a medal here in Łódź and there’s a lot of emotions going on now,” head coach Stefano Lavarini gleamed.

With this win, Poland joins the elite club of teams with three VNL medals, now setting sights on a deeper push in Thailand this August 22 to September 7 for the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championships.