NINGBO, China, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Poland swept Slovenia in straight sets while the United States ended Japan's 13-match winning streak in the semifinals here on Saturday, setting up the blockbuster final clash of the 2026 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League Finals.
Top-ranked Poland, who won the VNL titles in 2023 and 2025, was in complete control throughout its semifinal against Slovenia. Led by star outside hitter Wilfredo Leon, Poland claimed the opening set 25-16, with opposite Bartlomiej Boladz delivering the winning spike.
Slovenia recovered from an early 3-0 deficit to level the score in the second set, but Poland regained control behind Boladz's attack and took the set 25-19.
In the third set, Leon fired two early aces to help Poland race to a 4-0 lead. Slovenia was unable to recover as Poland wrapped up the set 25-17.
Leon finished with a match-high 16 points, including six aces. "Not always you can win 3-0 in the semifinals. And we also dominated in each of the three sets. It's not that easy, so you will not play this kind of match every day," Leon said. "I hope there will be more (aces) in the final."
"I am a little bit sad, because we had some opportunities where we could do better," Slovenia's outside Rok Mozic commented. "When Leon is spiking over the block, you cannot do anything, but when he's taking a roll shot, you can take it and do something better in counterattack."
"We knew we would suffer a lot in attack, because they are one of the best blocking teams and that's what happened. But we need to learn from this. Tomorrow is a new day. We need to reset and go full power. The medal is the only goal that we have, so we'll give everything we have to win it," he added.
The other semifinal on Saturday produced a thrilling five-set battle, with the United States defeating Japan 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-13 to snap Japan's 13-match winning streak in this year's VNL.
U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly praised his team's resilience after the match. "Japan won 13 straight matches and a lot of wins to the tiebreaker, and they're an amazing team," Kiraly said. "So we had to dig deep. A lot of credit to a couple of the guys who came in and gave us a lift."
Poland will take on the United States in Sunday's final as it bids for a third VNL title, while Slovenia and Japan will meet in the bronze medal match.
"We need a rest, and we're really happy that we won that and earned four and a half extra hours before playing tomorrow. So we'll earn the guys some nap time in the afternoon. They won't say no to that," Kiraly added. Enditem
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