World No.1 and defending Volleyball Nations League champion Poland barely escaped a scare in their 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship opener, edging Romania in a hard-fought first set before cruising to a 34-32, 25-15, 25-19 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Saturday.
After a tense opening set that saw Romania push the reigning European powerhouse to the brink, Poland found their rhythm and dominated the next two sets, collecting three points to lead Pool B ahead of continental rival the Netherlands, which defeated Qatar, 25-18, 25-23, 26-28, 25-23.
(C) Volleyball World
Both teams now share three points, but Poland holds a superior set ratio.
Polish captain and star opposite Bartosz Kurek returned to national team duty after missing the Volleyball Nations League, producing 13 points on ten kills, two blocks, and an ace.
“It’s great to be back,” said Kurek. “The time off I took this season wasn’t planned, and I had to push hard to get back in form. It’s a long tournament and we want to be here until the end. We only need to go on the court and approach every match as if it were the final.”
Outside hitters Wilfredo León and Tomasz Fornal were also pivotal, scoring 14 points on 11 kills, two aces, one block, and 10 points on six kills, three blocks, one ace, respectively.
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Romania’s Adrian Aciobăniței led his team with 11 points, while Mircea Peța added eight, but the Europeans proved too strong, holding the edge in kills (40-36), blocks (9-3), and aces (6-2), while committing fewer errors (25-29).
#WATCH: Bartosz Kurek says it’s high praise and a privilege for Poland to be considered one of the title favorites in #MWCH2025 🏐🇵🇱
📹 @ernesttuazon /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/ilRjcmU0Dm
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) September 13, 2025
