Captains among themselves: Italy's Simone Giannelli (left) and Poland's Kurek Bartosz. © fipav

In the hit against Poland: Italy's series is broken

Italy's national volleyball team has so far remained unscathed in the Rotterdam stage of the Nations League. Now there was the first defeat.

June 25, 2023

From: det

3:0 against Iran, 3:0 against China, 3:0 against Serbia: Italy's volleyball players around Simone Giannelli from Bolzano have played really well in the second stage of the Nations League so far. Now, however, there was their first defeat in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: The Azzurri were beaten 1-3 by top team Poland.

Driven by Kurek Bartosz (20 points), Poland started the match extremely strong. The first set was won 25:19, the second section also went to the Poles, albeit narrowly (26:28). Italy, led by captain Giannelli, who scored five points, fought back and won set number 3 with 25:18, but in the end Poland was simply too strong (25:20).

Italy has 15 points after eight games. Simone Giannelli & Co. are currently in 7th place in the table. A top 8 position is necessary to advance to the knockout phase. The final four group games against Brazil, Canada, Slovenia and Japan will take place in the Philippines from July 4th.