The knockout rounds of the 2024 Paris Olympics volleyball tournament are underway and they kicked off with four tasty matchups on the men’s side.
First up were Slovenia and Poland, followed by Italy and Japan, France and Germany and capped off by the United States and Brazil.
Poland finally exorcise quarterfinal demons against Slovenia
The top-ranked Polish entered trying to overcome the ghosts of five straight exits in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games. There were concerns that history would repeat itself after Italy manhandled them in the final match of pool play, but any doubts were quickly erased.
Poland got off to a hot start, taking the first set 25-20 behind a great defensive effort. Poland’s two blocks and 13 digs in the first set made life extremely difficult on Slovenia, whose star player, Tonjeck Stern, had just three points on 3/14 swings in the first set.
Tomasz Fornal, who has been dealing with an injury in this tournament, was everywhere on defense for Poland with seven digs and two blocks through two sets.
Slovenia held a late 21-20 lead in the second set, but looked to have given it away when Poland held set point at 24-23. However, the Slovenians were able to turn the table with a late rally to score three straight points and take a 26-24 set win. It was Klemen Cebulj–not Stern–who led the way on offense through two sets with 11 points on 11/22 swings. Stern remained in check with just six points on 6/22 swings.
The third set is when Slovenia woke the lion and Poland’s superstar, Wilfredo Leon, took over the match. Poland scored 10 of the first 13 points in the set, the final three of with came on consecutive aces by Leon, who raised his point total on the night to 16 in the third set. Right alongside him was Polish captain, Bartosz Kurek, who had 15 on 15/29 swings. As a team, Poland was just too much for Slovenia in the third set as it used six aces to propel it to a 25-19 set win.
Things were tied at 18 in the fourth when Poland reeled off four straight points, including yet another ace from Jakub Kochanowski, to take control of the set. Poland had six aces in the fourth set, doubling its total on the night to an absurd 12, and cruised to a 25-20 win to take the match.
The win puts Poland in its first semifinal since 1980, and finally rids them of the demons of five straight losses in the quarterfinals. The Polish are now guaranteed at least a chance at their first medal in 48 years and will face the winner of the match between the United States and Brazil.
Slovenia were a tremendous story as the only country making its debut in the this tournament and reaching the quarterfinals, it just did not quite have enough to take down a force like top-ranked Poland.
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