Poland inflicted Ukraine's first loss at the European Championship in Sofia. The reigning European champion won 3:0 (25:20, 25:13, 25:22) and took the lead in Group B before their last match against Bulgaria.
Ukraine concluded its group stage participation with four wins and one loss, while the Poles remain undefeated and will face our national team on Wednesday at 7:00 PM in "Arena 8888 Sofia".
Ukraine came back from 1:8, but Poland took the first set
The start was entirely for Poland. With a strong serve from Wilfredo Leon Venero, the European champions took an 8:1 lead, and Ukraine was forced to seek a quick change.
Raul Lozano's team gradually returned to the set. Oleh Plotnytskyi recorded two aces, and at 13:13, the Ukrainians had already erased their entire deficit. Yurii Semeniuk twice stopped Leon on a block, and Vladyslav Shchurov also helped Ukraine stay in the fight.
In the end, however, Poland again took the initiative. Bartłomiej Bolondz made an important attack, the Poles' block worked in key moments, and Leon ended the set at 25:20.
Poland dominates the second set
The second set was the most decisive in the match. Poland quickly built a lead and did not allow Ukraine to repeat the comeback from the first set.
The European champions maintained high efficiency in attack, while the Ukrainians found it increasingly difficult to finish their rallies. Bartłomiej Lemanski added a strong serving run at the end, and Poland closed the set with a convincing 25:13.
Ukraine stayed in the match until the very end
The third set was significantly more even. After 3:6, Ukraine quickly equalized at 6:6, and both teams continued point for point almost until the end.
At 20:20, Poland again showed greater stability in the decisive rallies. Bolondz was a key figure in attack, and the Poles reached 25:22 and finished the match in three sets.
Poland with a huge advantage in attack
CEV's official statistics clearly show the biggest difference between the two teams. Poland scored 46 points from attack against only 25 for Ukraine. The European champions also had an advantage in serving – 8:2 aces, while Ukraine minimally won the blocking battle – 7:6.
Bartłomiej Bolondz was the top scorer in the match with 20 points. He scored 19 out of 26 attacks, which means 73% success rate in attack. Tomasz Fornal added 13 points, finishing 11 out of 17 attacks, and Wilfredo Leon Venero also scored 13 points.
For Ukraine, Vasyl Tupchii was the top scorer with 8 points. Oleh Plotnytskyi, Dmytro Yanchuk, and Vladyslav Shchurov finished with 7 each. Shchurov was extremely effective with his small number of attacks – 5 successful out of 6 attempts.
The numbers highlight the main problem for Ukraine in the match – the huge difference in successful attacks. Even the slight advantage in blocking was not enough to compensate for 21 fewer points from attack.
Ukraine finished with four wins
Ukraine finished the group stage with four wins and one loss, with the only defeat coming against the reigning European champion.
Poland, on the other hand, continues undefeated and will conclude its participation in the group against Bulgaria on September 16 at 7:00 PM. After the last matches, the final standings in Group B and consequently the opponents for the round of 16 will become clear.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
